two 


WILLIAM  A 

AN.D 

BEATRICE  HAE&ADEN 


V\SI\r-M 


R! 

^ 
o 


TWO   HEALTH -SEEKERS 

IN 

SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA 

By 

WILLIAM  A.  EDWARDS,  M.D. 

FELLOW  OF  THE  COLLEGE  OF   PHYSICIANS 
OF  PHILADELPHIA,  ETC.,  ETC. 

AND 

BEATRICE  HARRADEN 

AUTHOR  OF  "  SHIPS  THAT  PASS  IN  THE  NIGHT,"  ETC. 


PHILADELPHIA 
J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

1897 


COPYRIGHT,  1896, 

BY 
J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY. 


PRINTED  BY  J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY,  PHILADELPHIA,  U.S.A. , 


IT  PLEASES   ME  TO   DEDICATE  THIS 

LITTLE  BOOK 

TO  MY  LIFE-LONG  FRIEND, 

GEORGE  E.  DE  SCHWEINITZ,  M.D., 

IN   MEMORY  OF   MANY  DAYS  THAT 

WERE  HAPPY  AND  SOME,  PERHAPS  AS  PLEASANT 

TO  REMEMBER,  THAT  WERE  SAD. 

W.  A.  E. 
SAN  DIEGO,  1896. 


404136 


PREFACE 

I  HAVE  long  felt  that  an  impartial  ac- 
count of  Southern  California,  devoid  of 
the  fulsome  praise  of  guide-books  and 
land-office  advertisements,  would  be  of 
interest  and  help  to  a  large  class  of 
health-seekers. 

If  invalids  would  bear  in  mind  that  no 
climate  is  perfect,  much  disappointment 
would  be  saved. 

Again,  if  physicians  would  explain  to 
their  patients  the  absolute  necessity  of 
coming  earlier  in  their  disease,  much 
suffering  could  be  avoided. 

Finally,  if  the  general  traveller  were 
made  to  understand  that  he  was  coming 
to  the  arid  belt  of  America,  with  its  scant 
and  uncertain  rainfall,  many  complaints 
of  barrenness  would  cease. 

Miss  Harraden  has  kindly  contributed 
-5 


</  f  N;  ;    ;       PREFACE  " 

{tiieifjrstj  and  fourth  chapters  of  this  little 
book,  in  which  she  expresses  her  opin- 
ions formed  after  a  residence  of  nearly 
two  and  a  half  years.  The  remaining 
chapters  are  my  conclusions  after  a  resi- 
dence of  eight  years.  Neither  of  us  as- 
sumes responsibility  for  the  statements 
of  the  other. 

W.  A.  E. 

SAN  DIEGO,  September,  1896. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   I. 

PAGE 

SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA.  (BEATRICE  HARRA- 
DEN) 9 

CHAPTER    II. 

THE  CLIMATOLOGY  OF  SOUTHERN  CALIFOR- 
NIA   37 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  CLIMATOLOGY  OF  SOUTHERN  CALIFOR- 
NIA— (CONTINUED) 71 

CHAPTER  IV. 

OUT-DOOR  LIFE  FOR  WOMEN.  (BEATRICE 
HARRADEN) 90 

CHAPTER  V. 

EXPENSES  OF  LIVING— CLASS  OF  HEALTH- 
SEEKERS  THAT  SHOULD  COME  TO  SOUTH- 
ERN CALIFORNIA — CLOTHING — METHOD 
AND  TIME  OF  ARRIVAL — LIFE  TO  LEAD 
—AMUSEMENTS,  OCCUPATIONS,  AND  BUSI- 
NESS OPPORTUNITIES 96 

7 


CONTENTS 
CHAPTER  VI. 

PAGE 

TUBERCULOSIS  AND  DISEASES  OF  THE  RESPI- 
RATORY SYSTEM  .   „ 113 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THOSE    BENEFITED     BY    THE    CLIMATE  ...       130 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THOSE    NOT    BENEFITED  BY  THE  CLIMATE    .       140 


TWO  HEALTH-SEEKERS 

IN 

SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 


CHAPTER  I. 

SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA. 

SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA  has  to  be 
known  well  before  it  can  be  loved,  and 
even  when  thoroughly  appreciated  for  its 
many  delightful  characteristics,'  there 
will  often  remain  certain  of  its  peculi- 
arities which  may  perchance  jar  on  the 
sensitiveness  of  those  accustomed  to  the 
tender  charms  of  a  more  caressing  land. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  real  beauties  and 
advantages  of  the  country  and  climate 
are  so  obvious  that  one  need  not  hesitate 
to  draw  attention  to  some  features  likely 
9 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

to  prove  a  little  disappointing  to  any 
new-comers  who  are  looking  for  a  land 
of  waving  palm-trees  and  rich  natural 
luxuriance  and  generous  growth  of 
green.  Green  there  is,  and  of  the  bright- 
est emerald  the  eye  might  wish  to  see ; 
but  it  passes  all  too  swiftly,  burnt  up  by 
the  downpour  of  golden  sunshine,  and 
gives  place  to  every  shade  of  delicate 
brown  and  amber  which  one  learns  to 
like  well  enough,  only  not  as  one  loves 
the  blessed  green.  Palms  are  there  also, 
but  not  growing  at  random,  as  some  of 
us  may  have  feverishly  fancied ;  man's 
.  hand  must  plant  and  tend  them,  and 
water  them  unceasingly.  As  for  the 
rich  luxuriance,  it  is  there  also,  or  rather 
one  should  say  that  the  possibility  of 
it  is  there  under  the  dusty  soil,  waiting 
only  for  our  help  and  labor  to  give  it  a 
development  which  for  fulness  and  rapid- 
ity is  nothing  less  than  miraculous.  In- 
deed, one  of  the  greatest  pleasures  in 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

Southern  California  is  the  power  which 
we  all  possess,  if  we  only  choose  to  use 
it,  of  transforming  the  brush-grown  plains 
and  hills  into  a  fair  and  fruitful  garden 
land.  It  is  almost  like  a  fairy-story  to  see 
what  wonders  may  be  wrought  from  the 
very  onset,  and  to  mark  how  soon  the 
willing  earth  answers  to  an  .honest  care. 
But  she  demands  devoted  and  hard  work, 
— not  the  mere  scratching  of  the  ground 
and  the  smoking  of  a  cigarette  ;  and  per- 
haps it  is  not  out  of  place  here  to  insist 
specially  on  the  truth  of  this  statement 
for  the  benefit  of  those  who  have  any 
idea  of  coming  to  Southern  California 
and  taking  up  the  onerous  duties  of 
ranch  life.  It  is  one  thing  to  "  have  done 
a  little  gardening  at  home"  toying,  no 
doubt,  with  a  spade  and  a  rake  and  a 
watering-can,  and  quite  another  thing  to 
start  a  fruit-farm,  to  follow  a  plough  or 
cultivator  over  virgin  soil,  and  wield  a 
heavy  hoe  all  day  long,  in  the  fierce  heat 
ii 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

and  glare  of  the  sun,  and  to  evolve  and 
carry  out  some  scheme  of  irrigation 
which  often  of  necessity  entails  endless 
trouble  and  anxiety.  These  are  not 
light  tasks,  and  should  not,  therefore,  be 
undertaken  lightly;  but  a  judicious  ful- 
filment of  them  assures  success  to  a  man 
who  has  been  wise  enough  to  content 
himself  with  a  small  ranch ;  for  it  seems 
to  be  established  beyond  any  question 
that  small  ranches  conducted  in  a  busi- 
ness-like fashion  have  every  chance  of 
yielding  fair  returns,  whereas  the  larger 
fruit-farms  involve  too  much  work  and 
too  much  money.  Quite  apart,  however, 
from  pecuniary  considerations,  country 
life  in  the  South  of  California  has  a  great 
deal  in  it  which  is  very  delightful :  the 
riding  and  driving,  the  sense  of  unre- 
strained freedom,  the  pleasure  in  the 
wide-stretching  plains  and  rolling  foot- 
hills, and  distant  ranges  of  mountains, 
bare  and  uncompromising  on  a  first  in- 

12 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

troduction,  but  taking  on  rare  charms 
of  light  and  shadow  and  southern 
glamour,  when  once  the  slight  acquaint- 
ance with  them  has  ripened  into  friend- 
ship. Then  there  are  the  excursions  by 
moonlight,  the  sleeping  out  of  doors,  the 
fragrances  in  the  air  wafted  from  the 
orange  and  lemon  blossoms,  and  in  the 
spring-time  from  the  myriads  of  wild 
flowers  which,  when  aided  by  the  winter 
rains,  leap  into  luxuriance  charged 
with  divers  sweetnesses.  But  if  the 
rainy  season  has  been  a  niggardly  one, 
then  we  must  needs  content  ourselves 
with  a  few  poor  stragglers  who  serve 
just  to  remind  us  of  the  treasures  of 
gold  and  blue  and  red  and  yellow  and 
purple  and  white  laid  at  our  feet  in 
such  profusion  during  a  previous  year. 
Then  we  must  dream  of  the  fields  of 
the  flaming  eschscholtzia,  the  California 
poppy,  seen  to  perfection  perhaps  on 
the  foot-hills  of  the  San  Gabriel  valley, 
13 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

and  covering  the  ground  there  and  else- 
where with  a  rich  orange  mantle;  we 
must  dream  too  of  the  masses  of  brodiaea, 
pale  lavender  in  hue,  toning  in  so  softly 
with  the  numberless  yellow  flowers :  the 
yellow  violet  with  its  peculiar  Oriental 
fragrance,  the  gentle  little  cream-cups, 
paler  than  our  beloved  English  primrose : 
the  marguerite  of  varying  shade  and 
form:  the  handsome  leptosyne  with  its 
brown  velvet  centre  and  its  strong  vanilla 
perfume,  and  scores  of  others  springing 
up  to  take  the  place  of  those  which  die 
down  all  too  quickly.  We  must  pay  due 
tribute  also  to  the  rich  indigo  larkspur, 
the  lupins  and  vetches,  the  brown  and 
mauve  lilies,  the  gilias,  the  red  painter's 
brush,  the  wild  pea  of  brilliant  pink, 
the  delicate  shooting  star  with  petals  of 
white  tinged  with  purple,  the  tiny  baby- 
blue  eyes,  one  of  the  nemophila  family, 
white  flowers,  as  many  as  you  like,  and 
some  of  them  as  wee  as  a  pin's  head, 
14 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

and  the  pretty  little  blossoms  of  the 
alfilaria,  which  together  with  the  blos- 
soms of  the  elderberry  are  the  welcome 
harbingers  of  spring.  Later  on  in  the 
season  and  in  different  parts  of  the  State 
we  shall  find  other  treasures :  the  Mari- 
posa  lily,  so  called  because  of  its  like- 
ness to  a  butterfly,  and  the  Romneya,  a 
monster  poppy  of  crinkled  white  satin, 
and  the  thistle,  a  handsome  and  stately 
fellow  indeed,  and  countless  others,  some 
of  them  known  only  to  those  of  us  who 
are  able  to  climb  up  steep  places  or  dive 
into  deep  canons;  for  one  has  to  be 
fairly  strong  to  be  a  good  botanist  in 
Southern  California.  It  is  not  enough, 
to  have  a  penetrating  eye ;  one  must  be 
able  to  bear  fatigue  and  heat  and  glare, 
and  to  have  enough  enthusiasm  to  fight 
one's  way  through  the  dense  chaparral, 
and  enough  caution  to  be  on  one's 
guard  against  those  evil-looking  fiends, 
the  rattlesnakes,  which  kill  so  easily,  but 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

which  themselves  are  so  easily  dis- 
patched. If,  however,  owing  to  a  dry 
winter,  we  have  been  cheated  of  these 
many  lovely  wild  flowers,  there  at  least 
remain  certain  consolations  which  are 
not  likely  to  fail  us:  the  sumac  will, 
in  spite  of  drought,  continue  to  put  out 
its  tender  shoots  ;  the  chillicote  with  its 
bright  fresh  leaf  and  delicate  white 
blossoms  will  spread  itself  elegantly 
over  anything  within  its  reach;  the 
uncompromising  cactus  will  eke  out  its 
grim  existence,  offering  us  as  a  sort  of 
an  apology  its  most  exquisite  flowers, 
some  yellow  and  some  red.  Various 
kinds  of  sages  are  found  in  profusion, 
especially  in  the  more  southern  parts  of 
the  State ;  we  shall  find  also  the  Spanish 
dagger,  or  yucca,  the  manzanita,  the 
mountain  mahogany,  with  its  stubborn 
roots,  the  very  despair  of  those  who 
have  the  irksome  task  of  clearing  the 
brush-grown  ground;  and  higher  up, 
16 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

the  scrub  oaks,  and  the  grease  bush,  and 
lower  down  again  the  cucurbita  or 
gourd,  commonly  called  mock-orange, 
and  the  datura  meteloides,  a  large  pale 
violet  flower  full  of  delicious  fragrance. 
In  the  valleys  and  canons  near  the  river, 
or  what  is  called  the  river, — for  we 
should  scarcely  realise  that  it  is  such 
until  the  winter  rains  swell  the  mountain 
torrents  and  rush  down  with  overwhelm- 
ing force  into  the  dried-up  river-bed, — in 
these  valleys  and  canons  we  shall  find 
most  comforting  stretches  of  green  even 
during  the  hot  summer :  sycamores  and 
cottonwood  trees,  a  few  live  oaks,  abun- 
dance of  willows,  grasses  and  reeds, 
wild  roses,  and  a  perfect  luxuriance  of 
the  wild  grape-vine,  which  drapes  itself 
artistically  over  trunks  and  branches 
and  climbs  as  high  as  it  desires.  Up  in 
the  mountains,  of  course,  we  come  into 
a  totally  different  country  and  scenery ; 
live  oaks  and  pines  abound  everywhere, 

2  17 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

and  we  therefore  may  not  give  the 
epithet  of  treeless  and  barren  to  this 
portion  of  Southern  California.  Water 
is  found  there  without  stint  or  measure, 
and  the  climate  bears  little  or  no  resem- 
blance to  that  of  the  plains  and  foot-hills 
below.  Hence  many  people  who  miss 
the  procession  of  the  seasons  and  feel 
the  need  of  a  bracing  change  find  their 
way  into  the  mountains  during  some 
part  of  the  year ;  and  if  they  are  strong 
enough  to  enjoy  camp-life,  or  rich 
enough  to  take  servants  with  them  to 
see  to  all  the  details  of  the  little  estab- 
lishment, then  they  will  come  back 
greatly  invigorated,  especially  if  they 
have  had  the  pride  and  satisfaction  of 
laying  low  some  harmless  deer.  But 
camping  for  frail  folk  is  a  mistake ;  and 
doctors,  far  away  from  these  scenes, 
sitting  comfortably  in  their  arm-chairs, 
with  all  their  needs  luxuriously  attended 
to,  are  apt  to  give  out  this  order  much 
18 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

too  thoughtlessly.  They  have  not  them- 
selves tried  it  perhaps,  except  under 
more  favourable  conditions  than  those 
which  some  of  their  patients  might  be 
able  to  command. 

In  speaking  of  the  scenery  in  Southern 
California,  one  must  certainly  not  forget 
to  mention  the  enormous  granite  boul- 
ders and  lavish  supply  of  stones,  inter- 
esting no  doubt  to  the  geologist,  but 
the  despair  of  the  fruit-grower  and  of 
some  lovers  of  beauty.  Mrs.  Collier 
Graham,  in  her  charming  little  volume 
"  Stones  of  the  Foot-Hills,"  makes  one 
of  her  characters  refer  thus  to  the  soil : 
"  He  said  the  soil  was  good.  An'  I 
'lowed  it  was, — what  there  was  of  it ;  and 
so  was  boulders  good,  for  boulders — 
the  trouble  was  in  the  mixin'.  Don't 
talk  to  me  about  your  decomposed 
granite ;  it's  the  granite  what  ain't  de- 
composed that  bothers  me !" 

That  exactly  describes  the  feelings 
19 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

of  any  rancher  who  happens  to  be  the 
unfortunate  possessor  of  too  many 
boulders.  And  as  features  of  the  land- 
scape they  are  only  tolerable  when,  after 
sunset,  that  beautiful  rosy  glow  quite 
peculiar  to  the  South  holds  them  in  a 
tender  embrace ;  then  they  are  softened 
and  glorified  if  only  for  a  passing  mo- 
ment; and  those  of  us  who  come  from 
a  land  of  purple  heather  may  well  be- 
lieve that  these  barren  stones  have 
suddenly  burst  out  into  blossom :  just 
for  the  passing  moment,  nature's  com- 
pensation. But  the  next  day  in  the 
full  glare  of  the  sun  there  is  nothing 
romantic  or  picturesque  about  them. 
One  may  drive  for  miles  in  some  parts, 
and  see  nothing  but  stones  and  boulders 
and  dried-up  brush  and  shabby-looking 
cactus,  and  dust  without  beginning  or 
end.  The  dust  in  Southern  California, 
in  summer-time  after  a  dry  winter  is 
really  quite  overwhelming;  it  not  only 

20 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

eats  into  one's  clothes,  but  corrodes 
one's  temper  as  well,  and  gets  into  one's 
nose  and  throat  and  chest.  It  rises  up 
into  the  buggy  in  great  curling  waves, 
thickly  powdering  every  one  from  top 
to  toe.  Enthusiastic  Californians  pre- 
tend not  to  notice  it,  but  it  exists  all 
the  same,  even  although  it  is  not  men- 
tioned in  the  guide-books!  It  seems 
almost  impossible  to  realise  that  beau- 
tiful flowers  of  every  different  form  and 
hue  are  nestling  beneath  this  ugly 
covering.  When  one  sees  it  at  first,  one 
may  well  be  forgiven  for  asking,  "  Can 
any  good  come  out  of  Nazareth  ?"  But 
in  spite  of  dust  and  boulders  and  burnt- 
up  brush  and  heat  and  glare,  there  are 
many  delightful  things  in  Southern 
California  even  during  the  hottest  sum- 
mer :  then  it  is  that  the  mountains  look 
at  their  very  best  towards  the  hour  of  , 
sunset  and  after  the  setting  of  the  sun, 
all  the  crudeness  and  harshness  of  their 

21 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

features  being  tempered  and  softened 
by  the  tender  glow  and  glamour.  Then 
it  is  that  we  most  enjoy  the  lovely 
moonlight  evenings,  and  then  too  we 
know  that  we  may  reckon  on  the  cool- 
ness of  the  nights.  So  whilst  in  other 
parts  of  America  people  are  stricken 
down  by  the  summer  heat  of  both  day 
and  night,  out  here  in  Southern  Cali- 
fornia prostration  from  the  heat  is 
rarely  heard  of,  and  certainly  never  on 
the  coast ;  and  moreover  there  is  some- 
thing in  the  climate  which  peculiarly 
aids  recuperation  from  any  kind  of  ex- 
haustion. It  is  quite  possible  that  new- 
comers from  cooler  and  damper  regions — 
who  have  not  had  to  contend  with  the 
great  extremes  of  cold  and  heat  ex- 
perienced in  most  parts  of  the  United 
States, — new-comers  from  England,  in 
fact,  and  other  countries  of  Europe, 
may  find  the  dry  heat  extremely  trying. 
It  is  undoubtedly  hard  on  the  brain  and 

22 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

the  nerves,  and  any  invalids  suffering 
from  the  effects  of  overwork  or  from 
weakness  of  the  nervous  system  should 
be  strongly  advised,  if  they  come  to 
Southern  California  at  all,  to  make  their 
home  on  the  coast,  or  not  too  far  inland, 
so  as  to  be  within  reach  of  the  breeze 
which  throughout  the  summer  sweeps 
with  unfailing  freshness  over  from  the 
ocean.  And  speaking  of  the  ocean  re- 
minds one  that  nothing  one  could  dream 
of  could  be  more  beautiful  than  the  blue 
waters  of  the  Pacific  with  its  most  lovely 
fringe  of  snow-white  surf.  It  is  almost 
one's  idea  of  purity  and  perfection.  It 
is  a  smiling,  dancing  sea  with  life  and 
light  and  love  of  sunshine ;  and  all  the 
exquisite  tints  of  a  Californian  sunset 
are  caught  by  the  glistening  foam,  which 
then  exchanges  its  wonderful  whiteness 
for  all  the  fairy  colours  of  mother  of 
pearl.  To  sit  on  the  rocks  and  watch 
this  sea  is  a  joy  in  itself;  and  for  those 
23 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

who  like  to  pry  and  probe,  there  are  the 
fairy  pools  lined  with  every  shade  of 
delicate  and  rich  green  and  pink  and 
heliotrope,  and  inhabited  by  numberless 
crabs,  all  of  them  in  handsome  attire 
well  suited  to  their  most  artistic  homes. 
Seals  will  sometimes  sport  around,  bark- 
ing loudly  to  each  other ;  goldfish  flash 
by,  their  burnished  coats  glistening  in 
the  sunshine.  Grave  and  stately  peli- 
cans fly  overhead ;  cormorants  and  sea- 
gulls hasten  to  and  fro,  or  linger  on  the 
broad  stretch  of  kelp  to  do  their  fish- 
ing. These  wide  belts  of  kelp  are  quite 
peculiar  to  the  Pacific  coast ;  they  seem 
to  be  like  great  fields  of  golden-brown 
strands  of  leaves  and  berries  swaying 
with  the  movements  of  the  waves. 
Even  the  large  steamers  do  not  attempt 
to  cut  their  way  through  them,  so  dense 
is  the  growth  anchored  firmly  to  the 
ocean-bed.  But,  leaning  over  the  side 
of  the  vessel,  it  is  a  great  pleasure  to 
24 


IN    SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA 

see  such  an  expanse  of  rich  colouring 
toning  in  so  harmoniously  with  the 
beautiful  blue  of  the  ocean;  and  to 
those  of  us  who  love  to  observe  the 
many  charming  expressions  of  Nature, 
this  scene  will  perhaps  be  one  of  the 
pleasantest  memories  of  the  sea  journey 
from  San  Francisco  down  to  the  south. 
Some  people  consider  that  this  is  the 
most  agreeable  way  of  reaching  the 
southern  part  of  the  State ;  and  in- 
deed if  the  weather  is  fine,  as  it  usually 
is,  the  voyage  is  nothing  else  but  a 
pleasure  trip.  Immediately  after  pass- 
ing Point  Conception,  we  realise  that  we 
have  come  into  a  Southern  clime;  and 
we  almost  seem  to  see  a  distinct  line 
of  demarcation  separating  the  northern 
gloom  from  the  southern  glamour.  Then 
at  once  we  begin  to  see  the  porpoises 
playing  about,  and  the  flying-fish  spring- 
ing out  of  the  water,  and  looking  just 
like  rainbow  gossamer  as  the  sunlight 
25 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

catches  them.  Then  we  begin  to  have 
exaggerated  hopes  of  the  beauty  of  the 
country  awaiting  us ;  for  all  uncon- 
sciously we  are  filled  with  a  sensuous 
delight  in  the  genial  warmth  and  glow 
and  tender  colouring.  As  we  approach 
nearer,  however,  we  at  once  miss  the 
green,  and  this  is  especially  true  of  San 
Diego,  and  all  the  more  to  be  regretted 
since  there  is  no  reason  why  every  town 
in  the  south  should  not  be  a  living 
mass  of  trees,  nor  why  San  Diego  her- 
self, with  her  wonderful  harbour  and 
her  beautiful  natural  situation,  should 
not  become  a  very  queen  among  cities. 
In  a  land  where  peppers,  eucalyptus, 
acacias,  magnolias,  rubbers,  palms,  Nor- 
folk Island  pines,  and  camphors  grow 
up  with  breathless  speed,  there  seems 
little  or  no  excuse  for  not  taking  every 
opportunity  of  making  ideal  surround- 
ings and  conditions  for  a  town  the 
climate  of  which  both  in  summer  and 
26 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

winter  is  well-nigh  perfect.  A  great 
deal  has  of  course  been  done  for  this 
city  and  other  cities  too  in  Southern 
California,  and  some  of  us,  less  patient 
perhaps  than  is  seemly,  require  to  be 
reminded  frequently  that  the  country  is 
only  in  its  infancy ;  but  for  all  that,  we 
persist  in  saying  that,  considering  the 
easy  possibilities,  not  half  enough  has 
been  attempted  or  carried  through.  But 
every  season  makes  a  difference  now; 
people  who  love  beauty  and  will  have 
it  are  finding  their  way  to  San  Diego 
and  raising  their  standard  there,  and 
before  very  long  the  rose-gardens  of 
pretty,  sleepy  Santa  Barbara  will  find 
some  dangerous  rivals.  Before  very 
long,  too,  pride  and  public  spirit  will 
surely  conquer  hindering  circumstances, 
and  then  we  may  look  for  cooling  foun- 
tains and  green  resting-places  and 
plenty  of  shade  and  a  generous  supply 
of  easy  benches  either  for  the  invalids 
27 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

or  the  indolent,  and  perhaps  a  beautiful 
boulevard  sweeping  round  the  whole 
extent  of  the  bay  and  making  a  noble 
drive  such  as  few  cities  in  the  world 
could  command. 

With  regard  to  the  choice  of  any 
special  part  of  Southern  California  for 
permanent  residence  or  lengthened  stay, 
the  climates  of  the  different  counties  are 
so  different  themselves  that  the  wisest 
plan  is  to  give  a  fair  trial  to  several 
of  the  neighbourhoods.  Probably  San 
Diego  County  would  be  found  to  be  the 
most  satisfactory  for  an  all-the-year- 
round  home.  The  climate  and  beauti- 
ful position  of  Coronado  Island  attract 
visitors  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 
The  hotel  looks  right  down  on  the 
splendid  rollers  of  the  Pacific,  and  the 
air  from  that  pure  summer  sea  is  par- 
ticularly soft  and  caressing.  Los  Ange- 
les has  all  the  advantages  of  being  a  go- 
ahead,  ambitious  town  within  reach  of 
28 


IN   SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA 

delightful  scenery.  Riverside  is  a  town 
of  old  established  ranches,  with  plenty  of 
social  life  and  out-door  sport  Pasadena 
is  a  charming  suburb  of  Los  Angeles, 
spreading  along  the  San  Gabriel  valley 
and  having  the  stately  Sierra  Madre 
range  for  its  protecting  deity.  Santa 
Barbara,  very  similar  in  situation  to 
Mentone,  is  especially  attractive,  greener 
than  most  places  in  Southern  California, 
a  very  fairy-land  of  flowers,  and  with 
foot-hills  which  in  spring-time  are  cov- 
ered with  a  scented  mantle  of  the  yellow 
wild  mustard.  And  certainly  one  must 
not  forget  the  Ojai  valley,  and  the  still 
more  beautiful  Santa  Paula  valley,  which 
is  apt  to  remind  one  of  bits  of  England 
and  Wales. 

So  one  can  take  one's  choice  and 
move  on  until  the  right  requirements 
are  found.  Visitors  and  invalids  with 
ample  means  do  not  need  any  words  of 
warning ;  it  is  easy  enough  for  them  to 
29 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

change  their  plans.  But  people  who  are 
coming  from  older  countries  to  settle 
in  Southern  California  cannot  be  too 
strongly  urged  to  pause  for  a  time  be- 
fore pitching  their  tents  anywhere.  The 
conditions  of  life  in  the  West  are  so 
utterly  different  from  those  found  in  the 
Old  World  that  it  is  quite  impossible  to 
realise  what  one  is  giving  up,  and 
whether  one  is  likely  to  get  a  sufficient 
compensation  in  climate,  circumstance, 
and  chances  of  success.  These  remarks 
do  not  apply  to  the  so-called  labouring 
classes  of  Europe  or  the  Eastern  States 
of  America:  they  lose  nothing  and 
gain  everything  by  coming  out  to  a 
new  country.  Southern  California  is  a 
paradise  for  them  and  means  good 
living,  good  wages,  and  good  opportu- 
nities of  rising  as  high  as  they  choose. 
But  for  the  gently  nurtured  and  for 
those  who  have  been  within  reach  of 
artistic  and  intellectual  satisfaction  it  is 
30 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

altogether  a  different  matter.  These 
wants  will  make  themselves  felt,  how- 
ever gallantly  one  may  contend  with 
them,  and  there  is  a  starvation  of  the 
soul  just  as  possible  as  the  starvation  of 
the  body.  These  are  the  people  who 
will  probably  suffer  fefrom  that  sad  ill- 
ness, homesickness,  and  it  is  for  them 
that  these  words  are  especially  written. 
From  all  that  one  can  gather  about  the 
subject,  it  would  seem  to  be  a  mistake 
for  middle-aged  folk  to  uproot  them- 
selves from  their  old  surroundings  and 
venture  into  these  new  pastures.  It 
goes  much  better  if  one  comes  when 
one  is  young  enough  to  leave  no  regrets 
behind,  and  bringing  only  the  brightest 
and  freshest  of  h6pes  untarnished  by 
old  memories. 

There  is  no  doubt  whatsoever  that  it 

is  a  mistake,  if  not  a  cruelty,  to  bring 

delicate  women  out  to  ranch  life,  unless 

there  are  ample  means  to  pay  the  very 

31 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

large  sum  asked  and  given  for  house- 
hold help.  It  is  absurd  to  talk  of  the 
advantages  of  any  climate  from  Dan  to 
Beersheba  itself,  if  a  woman  is  to  be 
weighed  down  by  hard  physical  work, 
such  as  house-cleaning  and  washing 
and  baking,  for  which  she  has  not  been 
trained,  and  which  hitherto  has  prob- 
ably never  come  into  her  horizon.  As 
a  woman  herself,  the  writer  of  these 
few  pages  may  be  pardoned  for  laying 
particular  stress  on  the  dangers  and  suf- 
ferings liable  to  arise  through  ignorance 
of  these  important  facts. 

It  is  pleasant  to  turn  away  from  som- 
bre thoughts,  and  in  conclusion  to  speak 
of  some  of  the  more  familiar  animals  and 
birds  and  insects  found  in  Southern  Cali- 
fornia. The  humming-bird  is  one  of  our 
most  welcome  friends  in  the  country. 
A  quarrelsome  little  fellow  with  his  own 
kind,  and  very  masterful,  he  is  neverthe- 
less easily  tamed.  Meadow-larks  abound 
32 


IN    SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA 

everywhere,  cheerfully  singing,  accord- 
ing to  reliable  authority,  the  words 
"Drink  out  of  a  bottle,  bottle!"  We 
shall  find  blue-jays,  orioles,  finches  and 
butcher-birds,  canaries,  ground-owls,  yel- 
low-hammers, mocking-birds,  robins, 
doves,  thrushes  and  woodpeckers,  and 
many  kinds  of  sparrows,  and  a  few  wrens. 
The  most  characteristic  bird  of  Califor- 
nia is  the  chaparral  cock,  or  paisano,  or 
road-runner,  which  can  be  made  into  a 
great  pet,  and  is  seldom  shot  at.  The 
turkey-buzzard,  majestic  in  its  flight,  is 
a  well-known  feature  of  the  landscape. 
Quail  are  plentiful  both  in  the  valleys 
and  on  the  hills,  and  are  delicious  food 
if  properly  cooked.  Ants  of  many  va- 
rieties hold  possession  of  the  land,  and 
may  be  seen  busy  at  work  all  the  day 
long,  out  of  the  house  and  inside  too, 
unless  one  keeps  a  ruthless  lookout. 
The  tarantula  spider  is  an  enormous 
creature,  and  is  said  to  give  as  poisonous 
3  33 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

a  bite  as  the  rattlesnake.  Centipedes 
and  scorpions  are  found,  and  of  course 
lizards.  The  pretty  little  horned  toads 
are  quite  harmless.  The  snakes  are  for 
the  most  part  harmless,  except  the  rat- 
tlesnakes, of  which  there  are  two  kinds, 
— a  dark  grey  and  black  and  a  red. 
They  are  not  aggressive,  and  desire  only 
to  be  left  alone.  When  once  the  ground 
has  been  cleared  they  disappear,  creep- 
ing up  to  the  hot  rocky  barren  hill-tops, 
their  favorite  dwelling  places.  But  one 
cannot  be  too  cautious  how  one  treads, 
when  one  has  left  the  main  road;  for 
their  colour  harmonises  both  with  the 
sage-brush  and  the  dry  earth,  and  it  is 
quite  easy  to  step  on  them  unawares. 
Still  they  are  very  easily  killed;  in 
fact,  the  barefooted  children  running  to 
school  kill  them  with  a  well-aimed  stone 
or  a  long  stick  or  whip  and  think  noth- 
ing of  the  matter.  Bounding  all  over 
the  country  may  be  seen  the  jack-rabbit 
34 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

and  the  cotton-tail ;  and,  alas !  there  is 
no  mistaking  the  passage  of  the  skunk. 
Coyotes  disturb  the  peace  of  the  night, 
and  eat  as  many  chickens  as  they  can 
capture.  Wild-cats  are  found  in  some 
of  the  canons,  and  now  and  again  a 
mountain  lion  descends  from  its  solitary 
heights  and  prowls  round  the  barns. 
Deer  are  found  in  the  mountains,  and 
they  are  said  to  be  very  good  eating. 
Speaking  of  food  reminds  one  of  the  fish 
of  the  Pacific.  They  are  abundant,  cer- 
tainly, and  inspire  one  with  the  enthusi- 
asm of  Izaak  Walton,  but  they  are  not 
specially  dainty  or  delicate.  The  barra- 
cuda is  the  best;  Spanish  mackerel  is 
passable,  and  the  yellow-tail  is  rather  like 
a  solid  beefsteak  of  coarse  fibre.  The 
best  one  can  say  of  them  is  that  they  are 
not  worthy  to  come  out  of  such  a  beau- 
tiful ocean.  For  time  after  time  one's 
thoughts  return  gratefully  to  the  mem- 
ory of  the  Pacific :  its  blueness,  its  fresh- 
35 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

ness,  and  all  its  indescribable  charm. 
It  may  well  stand  for  one's  ideal  of  per- 
fection in  nature. 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE    CLIMATOLOGY    OF    SOUTHERN    CALI- 
FORNIA. 

A  GREAT  deal  that  is  misleading  has 
been  written  about  the  climate  of  South- 
ern California.  Its  charms  have  been 
exaggerated,  and  its  drawbacks  either 
passed  over  in  silence  or  painted  in 
glowing  and  attractive  colours. 

The  simple  truth  about  California  of 
the  south  is  quite  good  enough. 

It  is  a  fact  that  here  is  to  be  found  the 
best  yearly  climate  in  the  world.  Other 
localities  have  as  good  or  perhaps  a  bet- 
ter climate  than  ours  at  their  best,  but 
certainly  none  of  them  have  this  happy 
condition  the  year  round  as  we  do,  on 
the  coast  and  at  the  higher  altitudes. 

A  striking  peculiarity,  and  one  leading 
to  much  confusion,  is  the  great  diversity 
37 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

of  climate  of  this  country,  and  the  differ- 
ent climatic  conditions  found  in  even  one 
day's  journey.  This  infinite  variety  em- 
braces the  perpetual  coolness  of  the 
coast,  the  hot  dryness  of  the  far  inland,  or 
desert,  the  almost  perpetual  snows  of  the 
higher  mountains,  and  the  conditions 
(similar  to  the  mountain  regions  of  New 
England)  found  at  a  lower  elevation, — 
that  of  four  thousand  five  hundred  or 
five  thousand  feet.  At  the  lower  stations 
the  various  climates  all  have  the  peculiar 
charm  of  California's  equability. 

Within  a  few  hours  from  any  given 
point  one  may  obtain  the  climate  to  his 
liking.  This  is  invaluable  to  the  invalid 
or  health-seeker  wishing  an  immediate 
change  of  air.  It  enables  the  residents 
of  the  interior  valleys  too  to  find  a  lower 
and  more  agreeable  temperature  in  sum- 
mer by  visiting  the  sea-shore  or  by  as- 
cending some  of  the  surrounding  moun- 
tains. 

38 


IN    SOUTHERN    CA'LIFO'RNIA 

New-comers,  however,  are  often  be- 
wildered by  all  this  variety,  and  make 
statements  to  far-away  friends  that  add 
chaos  to  confusion  in  the  minds  of  East- 
ern people.  This  is  only  natural  in  a 
land  where  the  mail-carrier,  in  his  shirt- 
sleeves, leaves  the  semi-tropical  valley 
of  El  Cajon,  almost  at  sea-level,  and  in 
a  few  hours  arrives,  wrapped  in  two 
overcoats,  at  Julian,  five  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea.  One  traveller  reports 
California  to  be  all  sunshine  and  flowers, 
another  all  fog  and  cold.  Some  com- 
plain of  the  dry  desert  winds,  with 
their  exciting  electrical  conditions,  while 
others  dwell  upon  the  excessive  hu- 
midity ;  when  the  probable  truth  is  that 
the  critic  has  not  selected  the  proper  en- 
vironment, and  has  passed  by  what  he 
is  seeking,  which  is,  no  doubt,  within  a 
few  short  miles. 

A  correct  understanding  of  a  climate 
so  varied  and  with  so  many  possibilities 
39 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

for  life  and  health  cannot  be  obtained  at 
once.  Quite  a  year's  residence  is  re- 
quired to  know  all  its  advantages  and 
disadvantages. 

We  do  have  cold  days.  We  also 
have  those  that  are  altogether  too  warm 
for  pleasure  and  comfort.  But  we  almost 
never  have  sufficient  cold  to  injure  or 
kill  the  most  delicate  vegetation,  nor,  on 
the  other  hand,  is  the  heat  ever  pros- 
trating or  dangerous  to  the  individual  or 
his  animals. 

We  shall  see  later  that  this  country 
affords  one  the  greatest  latitude  in  the 
selection  of  a  home;  it  may  be  placed 
upon  the  sea-coast  in  the  dryest  known 
marine  climate,  or,  somewhat  removed 
from  the  coast,  in  the  valleys,  which  are 
dryer  and  warmer;  or,  again,  far  in  the 
interior,  on  the  desert  of  the  Mojave  or 
the  Colorado,  where  the  temperature 
is  excessively  high  and  the  atmosphere 
almost  destitute  of  moisture. 
40 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

There  is  little  seasonal  change  in  the 
extreme  southern  part  of  the  State.  I 
am  accustomed  to  say  to  inquirers  that 
our  winters  resemble  September  and 
October  in  the  middle  Atlantic  coast 
States,  and  that  our  summers  are  like 
April  and  May  in  the  same  region.  It 
will  be  seen,  then,  that  the  dividing-line 
between  summer  and  winter  is  more  ima- 
ginary than  real ;  it  exists  in  the  calen- 
dar and  the  change  of  vegetation  more 
than  in  the  temperature.  Some  writer 
has  said  that  one  should  stay  here  the 
year  through  and  select  from  any  of  the 
months  the  days  that  suit  his  idea  of 
winter;  from  the  fact  that  the  greatest 
humidity  is  in  the  summer  and  the  least 
in  the  winter,  he  may  wear  an  overcoat 
in  July  in  a  temperature  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  thermometer,  would  render  it 
unnecessary  in  January.  For  example, 
the  afternoon  temperature  at  San  Diego 
in  December,  January,  February,  and 
41 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 


March    was    respectively    60.5°,   60.9° 
57.7°,    62.4°  F.,    and    in    July   it    was 
63.4°  F. ;  the  maximum  temperature  for 
July  was  79°  and  for  January  74°  F. 

The  greatest  change  in  temperature 
occurs  at  night,  more  marked  in  the  in- 
terior valleys  than  on  the  coast,  and  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  in  January  Los 
Angeles,  which  is  inland,  shows  a  regis- 
ter of  46.5°  F.,  and  San  Diego,  which  is 
littoral,  47.5°  at  7  P.M.,  while  at  3  P.M. 
the  figures  stand  respectively,  Los 
Angeles  65.2°  and  San  Diego  60.9°  F. 
In  summer  this  difference  is  more 
marked.  Warner  has  observed  the 
thermometer  reach  103°  at  an  inland 
station,  while  on  the  coast  it  was  but 
79°  F.  This  thermometric  registration 
has  a  peculiarity  which  one  must  always 
bear  in  mind :  while  a  temperature  of 
85°  or  90°  F.  in  New  York  is  almost 
unendurable,  it  is  far  from  oppressive 
in  Southern  California.  Many  of  us 
42 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

consider  the  summer  of  littoral  Califor- 
nia as  the  pleasantest  season  of  the  year. 

A  glance  at  the  thermometric  tables 
will  show  that  in  some  years  the  months 
of  July,  August,  September,  and  Octo- 
ber show  a  three  o'clock  temperature 
with  hardly  an  appreciable  difference. 
The  greatest  change  is  at  midnight  and 
just  before  sunrise,  hours  at  which  most 
people,  particularly  health-seekers,  are 
not  exposed  to  alternations  in  tempera- 
ture. 

I  wish  to  call  particular  attention  to 
the  apparent  difference  between  sun- 
shine and  shade,  and  mid-day  and  mid- 
night. This  change  is  more  a  subjective 
sensation  than  a  reality,  and  is  true  of 
all  semi-tropical  locations.  It  is  less 
marked  in  California  than  in  Italy,  but  it 
always  appeals  strongly  to  the  new- 
comer, who  is  surprised  at  the  immediate 
sense  of  chill  when  he  enters  the  shade 
from  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun.  It  is  on 
43 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

this  account  that  one  who  learns  to  know 
this  climate  is  rarely  seen  without  a  light 
over-covering  within,  reach;  there  are 
some,  however,  who  will  become  so  ac- 
climated that  this  additional  covering 
will  become  superfluous,  but  these  con- 
stitute the  small  minority. 

As  night  advances  the  temperature 
decreases,  and  while  this  change  may 
not  cause  the  mercury  to  fall  many 
degrees,  still  it  is  very  noticeable  to  the 
individual.  This  is  less  marked  on  the 
coast  in  summer,  and  more  so  at  all 
seasons  in  the  interior. 

Further  to  show  the  remarkable  equa- 
bility of  the  coast  climate,  as  illustrated 
by  San  Diego,  we  present  the  following 
table  through  the  courtesy  of  M.  Yale 
Beach,  Esq.  It  shows  the  maximum 
and  minimum  temperature  at  San  Diego 
for  twenty-two  years,  and  is  compiled 
from  the  official  record  of  the  United 
States  Weather  Bureau. 
44 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 


y 

•UK 

i^«^«^WtWM^^»^ 

g 

Q 

'XW 

oS  oo  o  0*0  R  o  o  o'o'oSB  o"o  o  ovS*  R  o  o«  o 

*0 

<n 

g 

•UK 

^^-OrovoOroO^^roN.O^vovOvo^OOm 

1 

1 

•XK 

£  £  ^  S<o  £  g-g.'&g  £  5*  £&  EC?  o\c2  ££<& 

1 

"UTAT 

in  ovvo  rooo  o  -<j-vo  oo  vo  ooo  oooo  row  ONOVO  O  m 

1 

*j 

•«*•  Tf  -*•  m  -*••<*•       •*• 

I 

CO 

•XK 

ovo  oooorooNH«HO  ^«co  m  m  o  O  O  •*  rooo  o 

CO    0  ONCO  CO    OCO    O\00    000  00  00  00    000  00  00    O\00  CO  CO  CO 

I 

•it 

•UK 

m^^^m^K^mmm^m^vg^^mvg  I^mSm 

1 

A 
C/2 

•XK 

ONOOOONMONNVOOOCOOCOONNMrOOsOOO 
03  00    000  00    ON  M    ONOO  00  00    M    0  ON  0  000    ONOO  00  00    0  ON 

•0 

t 

to 

•UK 

O  rovo  ro  o  oo  m  ^vo  vowo-^NH^-owoooooMn 
vo  vo  mvo  vo  in  m  m  m  mvo  vo  mvo  vo  m  mvo  mvo  m  m  in 

M 

0? 

1 

•XK 

vooo  roroH  N  o  H  •*  «  ro-<4-N  ONN  oooNCJNmo  H  O 

00    000  000000000000000000    ONOO  00    OOO  00  00  00  00  00    ON 

M 

2 

^ 

•UK 

oo  o  ON  H  o  ONVO  oo  rt-  o  r>.  ON  ^f-oo  o  o  m  ONVO  co  o  o  o 
mvo  mvo  vo  mmmmmmmmm  mvo  m  m  m  m  m  ••*•  m 

1 

3 

•XK 

oooo  ooo  o  o  oco  ooo  oo  oo  oo  o  ooo  oo  oo  o  o  o 

1 

d 

•UK 

moo  NrOHinHNMro  mvo  O  N  •<*•  -*•  -<j-vo  H  ro  H  ro  O 
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 

. 

H- 

XK 

O  mvo  ooo  ^*-vo  ro  rovo  m  -<j-  H  it-  moo  vo  N  rooo  m  in  ro 

OO    O  O  OOO    ON  O  ON  O  Cx  OOO  OO    OOOOOONOOOO 

V 

£ 

•UK 

m  m  m  m  m  m^-  ^^  wo°  tnts*N  °  °°  N  Ov°  m^OMn 

m 

^ 

rooo  ^-NVOCO  roTj-Tj-N  roovN  row  o\O  Omo  oco  o 

00    0  000    OVO    0  ONOO    O  000    OOOO  000    OVO  00  00    0 

1 

J 

•UK 

9^9^^^ft^4^«^«^ 

•XK 

ooo  o  ooo  vo  ooo  oo  oo  ooo  vo*c<P  oco  ONO?CO>  ooo  'oo? 

Sfe 

c 

•UK 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^.^^o^ 

S 

•XK 

"NroMinOoo  ONONN  onoo   MOO  C4  N  O   ^-vo  ro  m  N 

0  OVO    0  0  OVO    O\vo    0  0  OVO  00  VO  00    000    00  000 

*s^ 

^ 

. 

•UK 

?«5-?a¥*%^a^%5.$%5.^%sg.5.S 

s§ 

fa 

•XK 

co  t^^-O  omo\-<*-roN  o  ro  ONVO  ONO  omr^ooo  mov 

VO    OVO    0  0  OVO    OVO  00    000    0  000    OVO  00    0  OVO    OVO 

R 

J 

•UK 

£;  ^  *).  *}.  $  ^.°£>  £  ^^  ^;  ^  o^oQj  £<%  WQ  jj>  jj>co  oo^  c^ 

rt  o 

s*§ 

""* 

•XK 

ro  m  M  co  moo  co  vo  ro  o  ^*-vo  oo  co  ^-  rt-  -^-co  vo  vo  in  o  o\ 

0  0  OVC  VO    OVO    0  0  Ovo    0  OVO    O  OvO    OvO    O  OCO  VO 

•3  1 

n»A 

HHH^I  s  I        si  Suggs' 

*J  2 

1 

45 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 


•wa£ 

VOVO   »OVO  VO  VO  & 

vO   t^vo  vo  vo 

VO 

•Wd  B 

oo  N  o  ro  vovo  o\ 
u->\O  vo  VO  VO  \O  NO 

^asvgvS^ 

VO 

vo 

•wa  i 

IOVO  ^vo>vo'vO  vS^ 

O    O  OO    N    CO 
t>.  txvo  vo  vo 

^ 

•uooN 

ftvgSjv^^Sv^ 

O   O   t^  N   fi 
t^  t>vO  VO  VO 

Tj- 

vo 

'WV  II 

tx  <y\OO    N    -*VO  OO 
v>  »o  xnvo  VO  vo  vo 

VO   t>-vO  vo  vo 

VO 

•wvoi 

»o  tx  t^  o  co  m  t^ 
IO  ir>  mvO  VO  vo  vo 

V^^S^vS 

vS 

•wv6 

«  vo  vnoo  N  Tj-vo 
m  10  10  vnvo  vo  vo 

00    f-  -^VOOO 
VOVO  vo   10  10 

vS 

•wvs 

t^  m  <nvo  H  N  »o 
•«$•  \r>  ir>  invo  vo  vo 

t>.  to  o  -*m 
vo  vovo  10  10 

.£ 

•wv  Z 

•^-  in  vr>  lovo  vo  vo 

>0  m  ON  N    « 

vo  vo  >o  »o  to 

^VO 

•H-Y9 

<S.2>S>S>£v8vSi 

V?VO   lOtO  VO 

ft 

•wv  S 

^-aaX^^vS 

vo'vg^Lo^ 

S 

•wv  fr 

^Into^^SvS 

vSVo^vVLo 

ft 

•wv£ 

•^-  10  lO  10  10  IOVO 

^vg^ioS?) 

ft 

•wv  e 

O  M    H    CO  O\  O\  fO 
TJ-  10  VO  »0  10  »OVO 

VO  vo   VO  10  »0 

ft 

•wv  i 

OO    W    M    CO  OS  O\  f) 
^J-  10  »0  10  »0  »OVO 

VO  vo   10  vovo 

ft 

•iqSrapIK 

»O  \O  IO  »O  »OVO  VO 

^-  CO  O\  -^-  i*- 
VO  VO   VO  >O  VO 

S 

K  . 

•* 

0^ 

$  .'  :  :  !  * 

?, 

w 

S 

2 

1 

I/ 

•;|  'SS 

|i|§§ 

tills 

i 

46 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 


•Ajiptra 
-nq  Xpptioui  treaj^ 

<&s«8R5:<§.g: 

W-RS* 

•A.T2P  3UO  AUB 

Ul    UOpBUBA    JSBai 

•&ep  auo  XUB  m 

N    H    O    O  VO   O\  N 
N    CO  «    fO  M    M    M 

ss-s^-s 

.^dm,rmn«nu!W 

VO    ONOO    •>*•  H    M    t*s 
CO  CO  CO  TMO  to  10 

10  N    to  VO  M 

I 

.9     B 

• 

-aaduia,  umuiix*H 

t.oot.cooor.t. 

^^^^ 

^SSSSLn 

to  to  to  tOVO  VO*VO 

VO  vo  VO   10  10 

j 

•K-dE  II 

ZMZ$£g 

•*  cn  o  •«*•  •*• 

VOVO  vO   to  »0 

to 

•Wd  01 

IO  to  to  vovo  VO  VO 

•*  •«•  o  to  •<*• 

VO  VOVO   10  10 

00 

to 

•W-d6 

CO  •*•  rovo   O  M   Th 
to  IO  to  tOVO  VO  vO 

10  10  M    10  to 

VO  VO  VO   to  IO 

oo 

iir«g 

S?  to  10  lOvO  VO  v? 

IO  IO  M    IO  VO 
VO  VO  VO   to  IO 

SJ 

ir«J 

•^•vo  tooo  H  co  to 

IO  to  to  tOVO  VO  VO 

1010  W  VO  VO 
vo  vovo  to  to 

8 

•KM9 

1000  VO    O    «    -<*-VO 
to  10  lOVQ  VO  VO  vo 

vo  vo   CO  t^  t^ 
\O  VOVO   vo  10 

vo 

•waS 

tov8  tovo  vo  vo  vo 

ssvzrjovg- 

vS 

tovo  vovo  vo  vo  vo 

^vo^vo1 

v? 

IO 

r 

ON 

OS 

^ 

H 

M 

*-J 

E 

1*       t-<  J^ 

Ql 

>» 

rQ           rQ     S 

E 

4) 

l~ita  s  ^J  s  t"J    , 

lljjl 

1 

47 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

The  preceding  table  presents  the  aver- 
age temperature  for  each  hour  of  the 
day  of  each  month  of  the  year,  and  the 
greatest  and  least  variation  of  tempera- 
ture in  any  twenty-four  hours.  In  ad- 
dition, it  presents  the  mean  monthly 
humidity.  It  was  compiled  from  the 
statistics  of  the  United  States  Weather 
Bureau  by  John  Ginty,  Esq. 

Temperature  records  are  very  mislead- 
ing, from  the  fact  that  two  localities  may 
have  the  same  mean  temperature,  either 
annual  or  monthly,  and  yet  be  vastly 
different  in  their  thermal  conditions. 
This  is  well  illustrated  by  W.  F.  R.  Phil- 
lips, M.D.,*  who  presents  the  following 
example:  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  and  Ta- 
toosh  Island,  Washington,  have  the  same 
annual  mean  temperature,  49°  R,  but 
the  mean  temperature  of  the  hottest 
month  in  the  former  place  is  75°  F.,  and 

*  Report  of  the  Chief  of  the  Weather  Bureau, 
1891-92,  pp.  29-30. 

48 


IN    SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA 

that  in  the  latter  56°  F.  The  mean  tem- 
perature of  the  coldest  month  of  Des 
Moines  is  18°  F.,  and  of  Tatoosh  Island 
41°  F.  Again,  the  highest  temperature 
recorded  at  Des  Moines  is  104°  F.,  and 
at  Tatoosh  Island  78°  F.,  and  the  lowest 
temperature  at  the  first  30°  F.  below 
zero,  and  at  the  latter  7°  F.  above.  This 
makes  a  total  range  of  134°  F.  for  the 
one  and  85°  F.  for  the  other. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that,  in  order  to 
obtain  a  correct  appreciation  of  the  ther- 
mal conditions  of  a  given  place,  though 
it  may  be  on  the  same  isotherm  as  one 
with  which  we  are  very  familiar,  it  is 
necessary  to  consider  their  various  phases 
of  atmospheric  temperature.*  To  ac- 

*  Phillips  (ibid.)  considers  the  more  important  of 
these  phases  to  be, — 

I.  The  mean  daily  temperature  or  the  average  de- 
gree of  heat  received  in  twenty-four  hours  which, 
meteorologically  defined,  is  the  arithmetical  mean  of 
twenty-four-hourly  observation.  In  practice  this  is 
4  49 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

complish  this  we  present  a  record  of 
the  self-registering  thermograph  at  the 

obtained  by  using  the  mean  of  the  highest  and  lowest 
temperatures  recorded  by  self-registering  thermome- 
ters. 

2.  The  daily  mean  maximum  temperature,  or  the 
average  of  a  series  of  the   daily  highest  tempera- 
tures recorded  at  any  moment  and  during  a  given 
period. 

3.  The  daily  mean  minimum  temperature,  or  the 
average  of  a  series  of  the  daily  lowest  temperatures 
recorded. 

4.  The  average  daily  range  of  temperature,  or  the 
difference  between  the  mean  maximum  and  mean 
minimum  temperatures. 

5.  The  daily  mean  variability  of  the  temperature, 
or  the  average  difference  between  the  mean  tempera- 
tures of  any  two  consecutive  days. 

6.  The  absolute  maximum  temperature,  or  greatest 
degree  of  heat  received  at  any  moment  during  a 
given  period. 

7.  The   absolute  minimum  temperature,   or  the 
lowest  degree  of  heat  at  any  moment  during  a  given 
period. 

The  first  five  phases  show  the  temperature  proba- 
bilities and  the  last  two  the  temperature  possibilities 
50 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

United  States  Weather  Bureau,  San 
Diego,  California,  showing  the  number 
of  hours  that  each  degree  of  temperature 
registered  last  year,  compiled  by  John 
Ginty,  Esq. 

The  so-called  rainy  season  in  this  sec- 
tion usually  begins  in  November,  though 
slight  showers  may  have  occurred  in 
October,  and  it  lasts  until  about  the  mid- 
dle of  April.  One  must  remember,  how- 
ever, that  this  rain  period  is  not  one  of 
continuous  downpour,  but  is  pleasantly 
interspersed  with  bright,  warm  days  and 
dazzling  sunshine,  and  also  that  the 
heaviest  rain  is  very  apt  to  fall  at  night. 
Here  again  we  find  it  difficult  to  make  a 
hard  and  fast  statement.  The  seasons, 
even  in  this  land  of  equable  climatic  con- 

of  a  climate.  All  these  points  are  well  shown  in  the 
tables  which  appear  in  the  text.  A  careful  study  of 
these  tables  will  furnish  one  with  all  the  variations 
of  temperature  for  the  southern  coast-strip  of  Cali- 
fornia. 

51 


CO 

TWO    I 

•sanojj 

IEALTH    SI 

SS^WSV0 

:EKERS 

| 

in 

•sanoH 

^Jtss'a  ; 

;ffsr*«& 

CO 

NO 

•sanoH 

^w^sra1: 

:*^w 

1 

3 

•sanoH 

^^JoJTJ?; 

H  txrx 

8 

* 

•SOTIOH 

RS^^10*  ; 

.  M    ON^OO_ 

1 

m 
in 

•sanojj 

s^^*-; 

;VM 

CO 

H 

ft 

•SJTIOH 

5Ja^««  ; 

.     •   CO  M    O 

§> 

in 

•SJnoH 

sss-sr;  ;  ; 

;  ;M%^ 

r 

ft 

•sanojj 

inS^^w*   [ 

;HNS^ 

2" 

5 

•sanoH 

^co^s^;  ;  ; 

«  ro 

IT) 

<3- 

•sjnoji 

JTA'S'S  '  '  ' 

? 

* 

•sonoH 

m  M  w 

.    .  M  o  xn 

| 

*§• 

•sonojj 

^s^  •  :  *  : 

...       H 

oo 

m 

•sanoH 

's  2  2  H  :  :  : 

m 
in 

$ 

•sanojj 

s^:  :  :  : 

% 

3 

•s.noH 

H 

9- 

•SJHOJJ 

M 

M 

•SOUGH 

m  o  H 

H 

Ot 

0 

•sanoH 

m      M 

M 

00 

& 

•sjnojj 

H 

H 

& 

•SJtlOJJ 

*:::::: 

H 

«> 

• 

2 

**       **  11 

3 

2 

in      i>» 

^       ^    JnrQ^ 

^ 

H 

"ijlllli 

Illll 

<&OZQ 

13 

21 

IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 


R    |     -«noH 

'      *    M       * 

in  M  N    '  \n 

2" 

fe 

•sonoH 

•       '      '    M    M       *      " 

m  M  ^-   •    • 

« 

£ 

•sanoH 

;«;;«;; 

NO    M    -^-     '    « 

2 

^ 

•sanojj 

•   •*    *   M    «      '     * 

^<o  •<*•  M  m 

S1 

R 

•sanoH 

•  ro  M    *  H  "3-  * 

«  «vo    *•*     1      f* 
\      N 

£ 

•sanojj 

COM      *      *   •*•  N      * 

NO    CONO    M    O 

% 

S 

•SJT10JJ 

M    H      '    N    N    M    H 

\OvO   •*•  M   ro 

00 
M 

• 
ft 

•sjnojj 

*  in  M  ^  N  ix  o\ 

^S0  ^ 

VO 
00 

M 
»>. 

•sanoH 

<*CO    '    W    -*"*^ 

vo  o  t>.  com 

CO  CO 

2 

a 

•sanojj 

N    CO  H    W    •*  t>  M 
CO 

£0t>    .00 

'ft 

& 

•sjnoH 

MOO  M  «  in  ro  ox 

^^^  ;a 

*§. 

8 

•sonojj 

*»*  i10*  a  a 

co  moo  M  o 

\O    •*•  M            M 

S 

0. 

NO 

•sjnoH 

M  txM  \o  m  r^  o 

M    M    -4-NO 

OO  VO    O    W  VO 

tx 

8s 

ia 

NO 

'sanojj 

^^BST^i?    |    ££&"" 

NO 

^ 

•sanoH 

^^HS-ES 

invo1  •*•  N 

s 

NO- 

•sanojjl 

^•srt&ag 

&S8R°°S 

IK 

•<*• 

NO 

•SJHOH 

m  10  t^  \o      M  N 

M          Cl         00    N 

vo  w  r>  t^.m 

00  CO   •«•  M   M 

K 

m 

vg 

•sanoH 

^M^S          g.?. 

<8S,S*;T 

$ 

*. 

•sjnojj 

^S^^-    R5- 

K^SS^S 

1 

vS 

•sanoH 

«H  M   O\O\      VOVO 
N  ro  «      oo  ei 

S^S^-S^ 

a 

S 

•sjnoH 

2  S  3^    5;  °" 

t^rf  •*  in  O 

M  CO    CO  CO 

8. 

I 

Total  hours  . 

.    .  £    .«-•«-, 

^^g«  

itill 

<Jc/DO^Q 

111!!  ii- 

t-ft<  g  <J  s  t-v-» 

53 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

10  u->  m  iovo  vo  *o  \o  vo  vo  10  «o 


•sonoH 


'sanojj 


"sanojj 


P-M  * 


rS 

Hill 


Greatest  variation  in  any  one  day,  31°  F.,  on  February  27  ; 
least  on  January  14,  variation  being  only  2°  F.  in  the  twenty- 
four  hours.  Greatest  variation  during  the  entire  year,  53°  F. 
Lowest  temperature,  37°  F.,  for  one  hour  only,  on  January 
27,  at  i  P.M.  ;  highest,  90°  F.,  for  one  hour  only,  September 
15,  at  4  P.M.  Mean  annual  temperature,  60°  F.  Mean  annual 
humidity,  78  per  cent.  From  1872  to  1896,  out  of  7401  days 
there  were  only  a  few  hours  in  247  days  that  the  temperature 
exceeded  80°  F.,  and  only  2  days  in  which  it  fell  as  low  as 
32°  F.  above  zero.  [Copyright  1895,  by  John  Ginty.] 

54 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

ditions,  are  liable  to  vary  greatly  in  the 
total  rainfall  and  its  distribution.  In 
some  years  it  exceeds  the  quantity  which 
has  been  established  as  the  maximum, 
and  in  others  is  far  below  the  average 
minimum. 

The  following  table  shows  the  rainfall 
for  twenty-four  years,  recorded  by  self- 
recording  instruments  in  the  United 
States  Weather  Bureau. 

During  the  winter  months  there  are 
few  days  on  which  one  cannot  be  out  of 
doors  at  least  a  portion  of  the  twenty- 
four  hours.  The  rains  occur  when  the 
winds  are  from  the  south,  and  discon- 
tinue as  soon  as  the  prevailing  western 
winds  arise,  when  the  atmosphere  at 
once  clears.  Thus  there  is  an  entire 
absence  of  the  enervating  steamy  heat 
of  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  one  can  imme- 
diately resume  his  out-door  life.  It  is  a 
well-known  fact  that  a  thermometrical 
heat  which  would  be  enervating  in  other 
55 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 


•I 


I 


* 

s? 

i 

M  a\*o  «  «                            in 

tx 

e» 

ro 
% 

O\in  H     H    -+CO    O    O    O     H    O    N 

q  ON  •<*•  ro  H  q               q  «  oo 

0 

CO 

co 

m  m  N  moo  t*.  Q  o  H  H  c\  r*) 
xninO-*H  0             O^rOM 

R 

H 

"*•  «    M 

0\ 

H 

OO 

o  moo  inline  H  -«j-^c<  o 
in  •*•«>  fOOO        OONMCO 

8 

00 

H 

H    H 

in 

0 

M   O  ro  Tt-vo  vo  o\  N  O  fnoo  in 
vom-^-moOOcn      V>NH 

rv 

H 

M    H    H                                                       41 

0 

£ 
OO 

^S'Svg0^00  °8^ 

ro  H                                   w  vd 

M 
tx 

•«i- 

00 

•t 

W^S^000^0^ 

tx 

OO 

* 

M    -^-  M    «                                                           H 

CO 

M 

fx 

^^J?0000^^^ 

a 

M 

H 

H       H                                       m 

OO 

\O 

Bi 

tx  rhoo  vo  m  m  rovo  rooo  •*  m 
-*  TJ-  f.  O  OOOOOOOH 

jr 

00 

HAM 

tx 

10 

tx 

ootxinNONOHONOm^ 

o9 

OO 

N                                                            « 

VO 

s 

Mmo^-^ONOM  tooo  m 

H 
ON 

00 

en  ro  M 

0 

s 

OO 
H 

•*inMOmOO«noo  t^^o 

O 
ro 

H 

£ 

Ssff^a00^0  °°§- 

«                                                                     M 

I 

, 

. 

2    .                           .    .  ft    .  t<  u 

2 

S^b             -2UJ^ 

> 

§&§^'                -55S|fiS 
S  3  2  "^  >,«  ^S,-ro  >  % 

§•§  J  SJJS-a  tf  frsl  J 

WS<S»=A<*OS5Q 

1' 

IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 


fts 

i 
I 


£ 


.  .  .    ^u 


,    2 


57 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

localities  is  stimulating  in  Southern  Cali- 
fornia. 

The  coast  fog,  about  which  so  much 
has  been  written,  is  most  frequent  during 
the  months  of  April,  May,  and  June. 
The  fog-bank  usually  rolls  in  about 
nightfall,  and  disappears  a  few  hours 
before  sunrise.  About  nine  o'clock  in 
the  morning  the  coast  is  entirely  free 
from  fog.  During  these  months  there 
are  a  few  days,  however,  when  the  fog  is 
more  persistent,  and  a  fine  mist  lasts 
until  half-past  twelve  or  one  o'clock ;  but 
this  happens  only  a  half-dozen  days  out 
of  the  year. 

The  sunshine  record  is  accurately  re- 
corded by  the  United  States  government. 
The  following  table  was  obtained  from 
their  annual  report  for  the  year  1893, 
the  latest  published,  and  is  of  great  in- 
terest and  value  in  our  present  study. 
It  shows  the  main  climatic  conditions  for 
the  greater  portion  of  California,  as  well 
58 


IN    SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA 

as  the  principal  sections  of  the  United 
States.  The  table  is  full  of  interesting 
deductions,  which  can  be  made  by  the 
reader.  Placing  the  sunshine  for  twenty- 
four  hours  at  one  hundred,  the  figures 
in  the  table  will  give  the  part  of  one 
hundred  in  which  the  sunshine  has  been 
actually  observed,  the  result  being  ex- 
pressed as  a  percentage  of  sunshine. 
The  ingenious  instruments  used  to  make 
this  record  are  the  photographic  and 
thermometric  sunshine  recorders,  de- 
scribed by  Professor  Marvin.*  The  best 

J 
results  are   obtained  from   the  western 

stations,  where  the  proportion  of  sun- 
shine is  greater  and  the  atmosphere 
dryer. 

This  report  shows  that  at  San  Diego 
there  was  sixty-eight  per  cent,  of  the 
possible  sunshine  during  1893;  that 


*  Report  of  the  Chief  of  the  Weather  Bureau  for 
1891-92. 

59 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

August  had  seventy-six  per  cent,  of  pos- 
sible sunshine ;  April  and  October,  sev- 
enty-five per  cent. ;  July,  seventy-three 


Place. 

g 

P4 

oT 
.5 

w 

No.  days  clear  or 
partly  cloudy. 

! 
I 

T3 

i 

80 
60 

I9 

61 
49 
44 
151 
125 
126 
in 

112 
143 

39 
131 
39 
137 

H 
) 

no 
136 
180 
9i 
91 

£ 

49 
103 

§ 
1 

!& 

£ 

Tempera- 
ture. 

I1 

N 
I* 

s 

60 

*65 
*6o 
*66 
68 
*65 
*4o 
53 

% 

47 
42 
67 
48 
74 
45 
59 

g 

52 
*47 
49 

lo 
63 
74 
53 
77 
52 

235 
3°5 
286 
304 
316 
321 
214 
240 
239 
254 
253 

222 

326 
234 
326 
228 
288 
282 
282 
289 
255 
229 
l8S 
274 
274 

334 
285 
316 
262 

17.91 
24.36 
16.59 
9.40 
10.29 
21.96 
53-71 
41.84 
38.64 
27.47 
44.00 

33.88 
8.48 
34.18 

IO.I2 
29.87 

35-43 
32.12 
44-45 
48.02 
53-01 
37-65 
39-03 
39-33 
17-35 
14.94 
61.58 
13.12 
36-71 

60.  i 
71.7 
69.6 
74.2 
63.2 
72.8 
56.0 
55-3 
52.8 
52.9 
62.1 
55-4 
69-3 
54-5 
68.3 
47-8 
75-1 
62.5 
70.6 
76.8 
58.4 
60.7 
57-1 
63.8 

75*5 
81.9 
62.8 

48.5 

49-5 
48.1 

47-9 
53-0 
50.2 
45-2 

34?:I 

39-2 
45-3 
40.7 

37-9 
39-2 
41.0 
34-2 
65.4 
43-2 
52.0 
61.9 
44-2 
45-2 
43-1 
46.7 
40.4 
38.7 
57-9 
50.4 
44-7 

Red  Bluff  

Eureka        

Buffalo    

Cleveland   

Denver   

Dodge  City   

Kansas  City  .   .   .   .  , 

New  York  City    .... 
Philadelphia  

Portland,  Ore    

St.  Louis    

Salt  Lake  City  
Santa  Fe    

Savannah   

Washington  City  .... 

*  Approximated. 
60 

IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

per  cent;  November,  seventy-one  per 
cent. ;  February,  seventy  per  cent. ;  Sep- 
tember, sixty-nine  per  cent;  January, 
May,  and  December,  sixty-six  per  cent. ; 
June,  sixty-one  per  cent;  and  March, 
fifty-six  per  cent; — or,  that  the  least 
amount  of  sunshine  in  any  month  is  in 
March,  when  fifty-six  per  cent,  of  the 
possible  prevails.  The  least  amount  of 
sunshine  here  is  greater  than  the  annual 
average  amount  prevailing  all  over  that 
portion  of  the  United  States  east  of  the 
Mississippi  River  and  north  of  a  line 
drawn  on  the  latitude  of  Omaha.  On 
an  average  throughout  the  year,  eighty 
per  cent  or  more  of  the  possible  sun- 
shine prevails  at  San  Diego  from  eleven 
A.M.  to  five  P.M. 

The  summers  of  Southern  California 
seem  to  be  little  understood.  So  much 
has  been  written  about  the  winters  and 
so  little  about  the  other  periods  of  the 
year  that  the  general  impression  is  that 
61 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

Southern  California  is  simply  a  winter 
station.  This  false  conception  of  the 
true  conditions  does  not  have  much  op- 
portunity for  correction,  because  the 
great  mass  of  travel,  both  invalid  and 
tourist,  usually  occurs  in  winter.  Few 
except  the  permanent  residents  know  of 
the  beauties  of  a  Californian  sea-coast 
summer. 

The  days  are  characterized  by  a  con- 
stant sea-breeze  which  blows  with  as- 
tonishing regularity;  it  is  rarely  too 
warm  for  comfort,  like  the  days  at  Cape 
May,  Atlantic  City,  Long  Branch,  or 
other  popular  Atlantic  coast  resorts.* 

*  The  following  table  shows  the  winter  and  sum- 
mer variations  of  the  ocean's  temperature  upon  the 
Atlantic  coast  as  compared  with  the  Pacific  :  Lind- 

ley  and  Widney.    * 

January.         July. 

New  York 33-3°  72*4° 

Savannah 49-9°  84.5° 

San  Francisco 52.1°  59-O° 

Long  Beach 60.0°  68.5° 

62 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

The  nights  are  always  delightfully  cool. 
The  mid-day  temperature  varies  from 
65°  to  85°  R,  rarely  the  latter,  and 
usually  from  74°  to  78°  F.  Those  of 
us  who  live  on  the  coast  consider  this 
the  most  delightful  season  of  the  year. 
But  as  it  is  the  period  of  absence  of 
rainfall,  there  is  a  consequent  dryness 
and  barrenness  of  vegetation,  and  it  is 
now  that  the  hills  assume  their  rusty 
dusty  brown.  As  far  as  vegetation  is 
concerned,  it  is  the  analogue  of  the 
Eastern  winter. 

The  interior  valleys,  however,  present 
a  very  different  state  of  affairs.  Here 
the  summer  temperature  is  not  un- 
usually 95°  to  100°  F.,  and  sometimes 
reaches  105°  F. ;  but  this,  again,  is  not 
the  same  105°  F.  as  that  on  the  At- 
lantic coast.  Owing  to  the  slight  hu- 
midity one's  sensations  are  very  differ- 
ent indeed.  The  striking  dryness  of 
these  regions  is  most  remarkable,  and 
63 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

extends  even  to  the  coast,  which  has 
undoubtedly,  as  I  have  before  men- 
tioned, the  dryest  marine  climate  of 
which  we  have  any  knowledge. 

Several  times  during  the  summer  the 
so-called  desert  spells  occur.  This  is 
when  the  land-breeze  or  wind  from  the 
desert,  many  miles  in  the  interior,  gains 
ascendency  over  the  prevailing  western 
or  ocean  breeze.  During  this  time  the 
thermometer  is  apt  to  show  a  very  high 
registration.  Under  these  conditions 
I  have  seen  it  at  San  Diego  register 
98°  R,  for  only  a  few  hours,  however, 
and  in  the  interior  reach  no0  or  112° 
F.  The  "desert  wind"  lasts  usually 
only  two  or  three  days,  but  is  ex- 
tremely disagreeable  and  exciting,  owing 
to  its  absolute  dryness  and  peculiar 
electrical  condition.  The  nights  during 
this  unusual  rise  in  temperature  are 
always  cool  and  pleasant;  one  never 
experiences  the  sleepless,  tossing  nights 
64 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

of  the  humid  East.*  These  are  the 
only  evenings  upon  which  one  may  sit 
out  of  doors  with  entire  comfort  and 
without  sensation  of  chill ;  this  evening 
chill  is  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  our 
climate,  and  is  somewhat  disappointing 
to  the  new-comer. 

The  peninsula  of  Coronado  has  a 
true  marine  climate.  It  is  a  narrow 
strip  of  land  twelve  miles  long,  and 
varying  in  width  from  a  few  yards  to 
two  miles,  and  gives  San  Diego  its 
magnificent  land-locked"  harbour.  Its 
climate  is  very  similar  to  that  of  San 


*  It  is  not  within  the  province  of  this  little  book 
to  inquire  into  the  laws  which  govern  climatic  con- 
ditions, or  to  offer  the  explanation  of  the  Kuro  Siwo 
current  or  the  in-shore  trade  or  counter-trade  winds 
that  give  California  its  peculiar  climate,  but  rather 
to  state  the  conditions  as  they  exist,  leaving  the 
reader  to  the  more  pretentious  works  on  climates  and 
medical  climatology  for  fuller  information  on  these 
subjects. 

5  65 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 


I 
& 

Baltimore. 

•3* 
§6 

•< 

Coronado. 

41 

r 

July    I 

78 

73 

60 

72 

77 

73 

68 

75 

77 

Ro 

74 

70 

70 

July    4  .... 

71 

76 

77 

6-r 

>jf 

July    c 

78 

68 

67 

g 

74 

83 

71 

68 

85 

8q 

86 

76 

68 

84 

Tuly    8  .    . 

51 

83 

77 

67 

78 

uly    Q  . 

78 

67 

75 

yc 

RR 

4 

7^ 

68 

60 

75 

66 

uly  12  

78 

7§ 

65 

^6 

72 

82 

72 

66 

Ro 

71 

76 

73 

71 

82 

60 

74 

77 

75 

8^1 

uly  ID  .    . 

65 

82 

73 

7* 

£ 

66 

9° 

74 

69 

81 

uly  18  

82 

92 

77 

72 

82 

uly  19....... 

82 

85 

B| 

75 

7O 

80 

93 

75 

65 

75 

uly  21  

82 

95 

7R 

66 

74 

uly  22             ,   . 

83 

88 

81 

67 

77 

uly  23  

8? 

86 

88 

66 

7R 

uly  24     .                   ... 

82 

78 

84 

69 

8^ 

81 

83 

75 

7° 

8^ 

80 

R? 

75 

71 

70 

July  27 

79 

«7 

77 

71 

7R 

July  28      

77 

78 

76 

70 

80 

82 

79 

71 

78 

July  30      ........ 

79 

81 

75 

70 

80 

July  7i 

72 

74 

74 

*7 

81 

77 

81 

76 

68 

78 

August    i        .              .   . 

71 

75 

72 

73 

8^ 

73 

75 

7° 

«3 

79 

78 

71 

79 

Augus     4     

8? 

7R 

68 

85 

Augfus     "? 

86 

87 

7^ 

70 

84 

89 

86 

76 

72 

83 

Augus     7 

Ro 

80 

76 

°T 

Augus     8    

84 

91 

^6 

70 

7O 

Augus     9    

84 

QA 

RT 

70 

Rn 

Augus   10    

86 

96 

70 

6q 

78 

79 

Qtf 

Rl 

69 

76 

August  12    

73 

QI 

«1 

70 

78 

August  13    

73 

?n 

80 

60 

g 

August  14    

79 

ft 

8q 

74 

Ro 

R? 

R7 

H5 

7i 

88 

80 

87 

81 

66 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

Diego,  said  to  be  a  little  cooler  in  summer 
and  perhaps  a  degree  or  so  warmer  in 
winter.  Lindley  has  presented  the  pre- 
ceding table  in  the  Journal  of  the  Ameri- 
can Medical  Association,  March  21,  1896, 
which  shows  the  comparative  maximum 
temperature  during  July  and  the  first 
fifteen  days  of  August,  1895,  in  Boston, 
Baltimore,  and  Atlantic  City  upon  the 
Atlantic  coast,  and  in  Coronado  and  Los 
Angeles  upon  the  Pacific  coast. 


67 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE    CLIMATOLOGY    OF    SOUTHERN    CALI- 
FORNIA.    (CONTINUED.) 

HAVING  considered  the  climatic  pe- 
culiarities of  littoral  California  at  some 
length,  taking  San  Diego  as  a  type,  we 
shall  now  turn  our  attention  to  the 
interior. 

The  Sierra  range  of  mountains  marks 
the  dividing  line.  But  the  coast  range 
of  this  vast  mountain-chain  begins  grad- 
ually to  disappear  in  Southern  Califor- 
nia, so  that,  in  certain  localities,  the 
interior  is  more  open  to  the  sea.  Wid- 
ney  so  well  describes  this  topography 
that  I  shall  quote  from  him  at  length. 

"  This    interior  plain  in    Southern   California  is 

made  up  of  the  long  reach  which  includes  the  San 

Fernando  valley,  the  Pasadena  country,  the   valley 

of  the  San  Gabriel  River,  the  Whittier  foot-hills, 

68 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

the  Pomona  and  Ontario  uplands,  the  valley  of  the 
Santa  Ana  River,  in  which  lie  Colton,  the  San 
Bernardino  country,  and  Riverside,  and  the  long 
plains  of  the  San  Jacinto  River  southward.  Unlike 
the  inland  plain  of  Northern  California,  it  is  very 
irregular  in  outline,  branching  out  in  many  direc- 
tions, and  often  merging  almost  insensibly  into 
rolling  upland  mesas.  This  plain,  with  its  irregular 
windings,  is  about  two  hundred  miles  in  length, 
with  a  width  varying  from  fifteen  to  thirty  miles. 
It  is  smaller  than  the  corresponding  interior  valley 
of  Northern  California,  but  the  reverse  is  the  case 
with  regard  to  the  coast  plain.  Instead  of  the 
narrow  rim  which  makes  the  ocean  frontage  outside 
of  the  coast  range  in  the  northern  portion  of  the 
State,  in  Southern  California,  an  extensive  plain 
faces  the  sea,  having  a  length  of  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles,  and  a  depth  varying  from  fifteen  to 
twenty-five  miles.  This  does  not  include  the  long 
valley  of  the  Santa  Clara  and  San  Buenaventura 
Rivers,  which  fronts  on  the  ocean  for  some  thirty 
miles,  with  a  depth  of  about  seventy-five,  nor  the 
Santa  Barbara  plain.  Between  this  coast  plain  and 
the  long  interior  valley,  the  coast  range  of  moun- 
tains, instead  of  the  continuous  chain  which  it  pre- 
sents in  Northern  California,  is  broken  and  opposite 
the  Los  Angeles  plains  for  a  space  entirely  disap- 
pears. The  whole  country,  interior  valley  system  as 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

well  as  coast  plains,  becomes  thus  a  great  open 
coast  land  facing  the  south,  and  with  the  high 
Sierra  for  a  background. 

"  The  area  of  the  plains  of  Southern  California  is 
really  largely  increased  over  their  apparent  size  by 
the  rolling,  hilly  uplands  into  which,  in  many  direc- 
tions, they  merge.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  a 
country  which  lies  between  the  San  Fernando  val- 
ley and  the  lower  Santa  Clara  valley,  and  also  in  the 
great  upland  which  rises  from  San  Jacinto  towards 
the  south  in  San  Diego  County.  The  Sierra,  which, 
north  of  the  so-called  Mojave  Desert,  makes  a  great 
curve  westward  round  the  south  end  of  the  San 
Joaquin  plain  of  the  central  belt,  turns  southward 
again  opposite  Santa  Barbara  and  Ventura  Coun- 
ties, and,  doubling  back  upon  its  course,  walls  in  the 
west  end  of  the  desert,  then,  turning  directly  east- 
ward, separates  the  desert  from  the  Los  Angeles  and 
San  Bernardo  plains.  Turning  southward  again,  it 
stands  as  a  wall  between  the  Colorado  Desert  and 
that  portion  of  Southern  California  lying  west  of 
its  base.  The  range  varies  in  height  from  five 
thousand  to  seven  thousand  feet,  with  peaks  reach- 
ing from  eight  thousand  to  eleven  thousand  feet. 
While  maintaining  this  great  elevation  it  yet  de- 
velops one  feature  which  it  does  not  possess  opposite 
the  central  belt.  It  breaks  down  at  several  points 
into  low  passes  between  the  coast  and  the  interior  of 
70 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

the  continent.  The  pass  by  which  the  Central  Pacific 
Railroad,  on  its  way  eastward  from  San  Francisco, 
crosses  the  Sierra,  is  seven  thousand  and  seventeen 
feet  in  elevation.  Yet  the  Soledad  Pass,  by  which  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad  crosses  the  Sierra  in  South- 
ern California,  is  only  two  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  twenty-two  feet ;  the  Cajon  Pass,  by  which  the 
Atchison  and  Topeka  Railroad  enters,  is  about  the 
same  height ;  and  the  San  Gorgonio  Pass,  by  which 
the  Southern  Pacific  crosses  on  the  road  to  Galveston 
and  New  Orleans,  is  only  two  thousand  five  hundred 
and  sixty  feet  above  the  sea.  There  are  numerous 
other  comparatively  low  passes  through  the  Sierra  at 
the  west  end  of  the  Mojave  Desert,  leading  towards 
the  sea  in  Ventura  and  Santa  Barbara  Counties,  and 
also  through  the  range  south  of  San  Gorgonio. 
These  passes  through  the  Southern  Sierra  have  a 
marked  influence  not  only  upon  the  climate  of  the 
coast  portions  of  Southern  California  but  also  upon 
that  of  the  deserts  lying  at  the  east  base  of  the  Sierra. 
"  The  Mojave  Desert  lying  beyond  those  passes 
which  open  northward  has  an  area  of  several 
thousand  square  miles  with  an  elevation  above  the 
sea  of  some  two  thousand  feet.  The  Colorado 
Desert,  which  lies  opposite  the  passes  leading  east- 
ward, is  somewhat  less  in  area,  and  has  a  portion  of 
its  surface  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  below  the 
level  of  the  sea." 

71 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

Los  Angeles  may  be  taken  as  a  typi- 
cal inland  city  of  Southern  California. 
It  is  the  metropolis  of  all  this  southern 
country,  and  is  situated  about  midway 
between  the  sea  and  the  mountains, 
twenty  miles  from  the  former,  and  four- 
teen from  the  latter,  and  about  equidis- 
tant from  San  Diego  and  Santa  Barbara. 
It  has  grown  into  a  beautiful  town,  and, 
in  so  far  as  it  has  reached  the  size  and 
condition  of  a  large  city,  has  grown  away 
from  its  suitability  as  a  health-resort  for 
a  large  class  of  invalids.  Nevertheless, 
as  far  as  I  know,  it  has  the  best  climate 
of  any  city  of  its  size.  Its  winter  tem- 
perature shows  an  average  of  52°  F. 
and  its  summer  temperature  is  in  the 
seventies  and  eighties.  The  mean 
yearly  maximum  temperature,  compiled 
for  a  number  of  years,  is  87.3°  F.,  the 
mean  yearly  minimum  is  43.4°  F.  The 
average  number  of  clear  days  is  one 
hundred  and  seventy-six,  fair  days  one 
72 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

hundred  and  forty,  cloudy  days  forty- 
nine,  making  three  hundred  and  sixteen 
days  during  the  year  in  which  a  person 
could  be  out  of  doors.  The  average 
number  of  rainy  days  is  forty-two. 
During  the  night  and  morning  the 
winds  are  generally  land  breezes,  turning 
in  the  early  afternoon  to  fresh  westerly 
sea  breezes  ;  there  are  high  winds  during 
the  winter,  and  blustering  storms  during 
the  rainy  season.  During  the  dry 
season  there  is  an  occasional  "  norther/' 
or  hot  wind,  due  to  a  very  high  atmos- 
pheric pressure  in  Northern  California 
with  a  relatively  low  one  in  the  Southern 
Californian  regions.  Fogs  are  more 
frequent  during  the  change  of  seasons, 
when  cooler,  moist  air  comes  in  from 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  soil  is  generally 
dry  and  porous,  though  some  few  local- 
ities are  adobe,  or  damp  and  sticky,  but 
the  dry  soil  predominates. 

The  advantages  of  this  region  as  a 
73 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

health-resort  are,  its  dry  soil,  mild  tem- 
perature, comparatively  low  humidity, 
the  number  of  days  when  one  can  be 
out  of  doors,  and  the  fact  that  the  alti- 
tude and  climate  can  be  varied  by  a 
few  hours*  journey.* 

Los  Angeles  is  surrounded  by  a  most 
attractive  country,  well  cultivated,  and 
far  in  advance  of  the  rest  of  Southern 
California.  Here  are  many  very  good 
invalid  stations,  as  Pasadena,  Sierra 
Madre,  Whittier,  San  Gabriel,  and 
others;  their  climate  is  similar  to  that 
of  Los  Angeles  itself.  The  temperature 
is  less  equable  than  in  the  sea-coast 
towns,  but  it  is  perfectly  acceptable  to 
the  average  invalid.  All  the  surround- 
ing country  has  about  the  same  climatic 
conditions,  and  varies  in  elevation  from 
three  hundred  and  fifty  to  five  hundred 

*  Report  of  Committee  on  Health-Resorts,  Amer- 
ican Climatological  Association,  vol.  xi.,  1895. 

74 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

feet,  with  an  average  rainfall  of  about 
sixteen  inches,  having  about  fifty  rainy 
days,  a  humidity  of  sixty-seven  per  cent, 
and  a  mean  temperature  varying,  as  we 
have  seen,  from  50°  to  80°  F. ;  but  it  must 
be  remembered  that  all  these  interior 
stations  show  a  very  high  thermometric 
registration  during  the  summer.  The 
same  degree  of  sunshine  is  found  in  the 
interior  as  we  have  recorded  upon  the 
coast.  Far  in  the  interior  the  fogs  are 
somewhat  less,  but  for  twenty  miles  and 
more  from  the  coast  they  are  quite  as 
prevalent  and  dense  as  on  the  coast 
itself.  One  escapes  them  only  by  re- 
treating far  into  the  interior  to  the 
higher  altitudes.  There  we  arrive  at  a 
condition  that  is  very  similar  to  the 
mountainous  region  of  the  far  Eastern 
States,  and  also  nearly  resembles  the 
well-known  stations  in  the  Swiss  Alps, 
such  as  Andermatt,  four  thousand  three 
hundred  and  seventy-eight  feet,  Weisen, 
75 


TWO   HEALTH-SEEKERS 

four  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-one feet,  Davos,  five  thousand  one 
hundred  and  five  feet,  and  Malloja,  six 
thousand  feet.  At  this  altitude  we  do  not 
find  so  many  of  California's  peculiar  and 
distinctive  charms. 


January . 
February 
March 
April   . 
May   . 
June    . 
July    . 
August 
September 
October  .   . 
November 
December  . 

Means    . 


49-7 
50.9 
53-4 


•4 

62.8 
65.9 
65-9 
62.6 
57-4 
54-5 


;rat 
?  in 


57.8 

56.8 

62 

65 

61.8 

76-5 
69.2 


59-5 


1* 


42.8 
45 

44 


69.7 
60.5 
56.7 
56.5 

5: 

41 


58.3  66.7  52.5  0.84 


0.99 
0.76 
0.29 
0.24 
0.9: 

0.00 
O.I2 

o.oo 

1.36 

0.68 
0.07 
4.67 


74 


s 


74     4-6 


e-s 


52.8 

54-3 

55-7 

58. 

59.6 

62.6 

65-9 

& 

62.8 
58.5 
55-3 


59-9 


The  preceding  table  is  a  synopsis  of  the 
weather  at  Santa  Barbara,  California,  for 
76 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

the  year  1894,  and  is  compiled  by  Hugh 
D.  Vail  from  daily  observation  of  tem- 
perature as  shown  by  self-registering 
thermometers,  and  the  movement  of 
the  wind  as  measured  by  a  Robinson 
anemometer.  Santa  Barbara  is  in  lati- 
tude 34°  24'  30.7",  and  longitude  1 19° 
41'  22". 

The  mean  temperature  of  the  year  was 
58.3°  F.,  being  1.6°  below  the  average; 
that  of  the  three  winter  months  51.5°, 
of  the  spring  56.2°,  of  the  summer 
63.4°,  and  of  the  fall  62°.  The  highest 
temperature  during  the  year  was  94°,  on 
September  15,  and  the  lowest  33°,  on 
January  7.  There  were  but  ten  days 
when  the  temperature  rose  above  80°  :  of 
these  one  was  in  April,  one  in  June,  four 
were  in  August,  and  four  in  September. 
Of  the  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days 
in  the  year,  two  hundred  and  fifteen  were 
clear,  seventy  fair,  and  eighty  cloudy. 
Rain  to  the  amount  of  one-tenth  of  an 
77 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

inch  or  over  fell  on  seventeen  days.  The 
rainfall  for  the  year  was  10.09  inches; 
that  for  the  season  1893-94,  7.02  inches; 
while  the  average  annual  rainfall  is  about 
1 8  inches.  The  mean  relative  humidity 
was  seventy-four  per  cent.  The  prevail- 
ing wind  during  the  year  was  west ;  and 
the  total  movement  forty  thousand  one 
hundred  and  eighty-one  miles,  making 
the  average  velocity  about  four  and  one- 
half  miles  an  hour.  The  greatest  move- 
ment for  any  one  day  was  three  hundred 
and  eighty-six  miles,  on  January  10, 
being  an  average  of  sixteen  miles  an 
hour.  The  most  prominent  peculiarities 
of  the  past  year  were  light  rainfalls, 
greater  cloudiness  than  usual,  and  a 
general  uniformity  of  temperature  which 
was  nearly  two  degrees  below  the  nor- 
mal. 

The  Ojai  valley,  in  Ventura  County, 
forty  miles  east  of  Santa  Barbara,  is  a 
typical  inland  valley,  six  to  eight  miles 
78 


IN    SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA 

long,  and  three  to  four  wide  ;  its  altitude 
is  from  nine  hundred  to  fifteen  hundred 
feet.  The  soil  consists  of  gravel,  and 
more  or  less  loam  on  the  levels,  a  clay 
subsoil,  and  considerable  adobe,  with 
some  alkali.  In  some  places  water  runs 
off  quickly,  or  is  rapidly  absorbed,  leav- 
ing little  dampness.  The  winter  shows 
temperature  extremes  of  eighty  degrees 
to  twenty-six  degrees ;  ordinarily,  the 
record  is  seventy  to  forty  degrees; 
summer  extremes,  one  hundred  and  ten 
to  fifty  degrees,  ordinarily  ninety  to 
sixty-five  degrees.  The  atmosphere  is 
said  to  be  extremely  dry,  and  there  is  no 
dew.  There  are  occasional  high  winds 
with  sand  storms ;  the  wind  that  blows 
from  the  north,  from  the  Mojave  Desert, 
creates  considerable  electrical  disturb- 
ance. Fogs  are  infrequent,  and,  when 
they  do  occur,  disappear  by  9  A.M., 
with  a  few  exceptions.  During  the  year 
1894  there  were  over  three  hundred 
79 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

bright,     sunny     days.*      The     average 
yearly  rainfall  is  sixteen  inches. 

Pasadena,  about  twenty-eight  miles 
from  the  coast,  is  situated  at  an  elevation 
of  eight  hundred  to  one  thousand  feet ; 
within  eight  miles  are  numerous  points 
varying  in  elevation  from  twelve  hundred 
to  thirty-five  hundred  feet.  The  soil  is  a 
sandy  loam.  The  mean  average  tem- 
perature for  January  is  53.9°;  July, 
70.2°;  December,  58°;  August,  70°  F. 
The  mean  maximum  and  minimum  tem- 
perature for  December,  88°  F.  maxi- 
mum, 37°  minimum ;  for  July,  90°  F. 
maximum,  51°  minimum.  The  relative 
humidity  for  July  is  sixty  per  cent; 
December,  sixty-four  per  cent;  Sep- 
tember, seventy  per  cent.  From  April 
to  September  fogs  are  quite  frequent  in 
the  early  morning,  usually  disappearing 


*  Report  of  Committee  on  Health-Resorts,  Amer- 
ican Climatological  Association,  vol.  xi.,  1895. 
80 


IN    SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA 

by  nine  o'clock.  The  proportion  of 
bright,  sunny  days  is  about  as  in  Los 
Angeles. 

Redlands  is  thirteen  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  above  the  sea-level,  and  is  in  a 
valley  surrounded  by  mountains  of  from 
five  thousand  to  ten  thousand  feet  alti- 
tude. The  soil  is  dry,  red,  deep,  and 
porous,  in  some  places  stony.  The 
average  rainfall  is  twelve  inches.  The 
summers  are  hot,  but  owing  to  excessive 
dryness  are  said  not  to  be  oppressive. 
During  the  day  the  thermometer  is  apt 
to  register  110°  F.  The  winter  ex- 
tremes are  from  35°  to  80°  F.,  the 
former  on  December  12  and  29,  1893, 
and  the  latter  on  December  5  and  6, 
1893.  Occasional  high  winds  occur, 
and  some  fogs  which  generally  disap- 
pear during  the  forenoon. 

If  one  pursues  his  course  farther  into 
the  interior,  he  reaches  either  one  or  the 
other  of  the  two  great  deserts  of  South- 
6  81 


TWO   HEALTH-SEEKERS 

ern  California,  the  Mojave  and  the  Colo- 
rado. In  the  latter,  in  the  southeastern 
portion  of  San  Diego  County,  is  to 
be  found  a  most  remarkable  depression 
in  the  earth's  surface, — the  bed  of  an 
ancient  sea, — known  as  the  San  Felipe 
Sink,  or  the  Conchilla  Valley.  The 
deepest  part  of  this  depression  is  three 
hundred  and  sixty  feet  below  sea-level, 
the  lowest  spot  in  the  United  States.* 


*  Other  places  below  sea-level  are :  Sink  of  the 
Amargosa  (Arroyo  del  Muerto),  in  Eastern  Califor- 
nia, two  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  below  sea- 
level;  the  Caspian  Sea,  eighty-five  feet  below  sea- 
level  ;  Lake  Assal,  east  of  Abyssinia  in  the  Afar 
country,  eight  miles  long  and  four  miles  wide,  seven 
hundred  and  sixty  feet  below  sea-level.  There  are 
several  depressions  about  six  hundred  feet  below 
sea-level  in  this  vicinity.  The  noted  oasis  Siwah,  in 
the  Libyan  Desert,  three  hundred  miles  west  of 
Cairo,  is  one  hundred  feet  below  sea-level.  There 
are  also  numerous  other  depressions  in  the  desert 
portion  of  Algeria  and  at  various  points  in  the  Sa- 
hara Desert.  (Lindley.) 

82 


IN   SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

This  sea-bed  is  one  hundred  and  thirty 
miles  in  length  and  about  thirty  miles 
wide.  At  Salton,  some  little  distance 
into  the  depression,  the  sun  temperature 
reaches  135°  to  160°  F.,  but  the  hu- 
midity is  low  and  the  heat  is  fairly  well 
tolerated.  One  may  here  obtain  the 
effects  of  moderately  compressed  air. 
The  famous  volcanoes  are  a  few  miles 
from  this  point. 

Indio  is  near  the  edge  of  the  de- 
pression, and  is  but  twenty  feet  below 
sea-level.  Invalids  may  select  it  for  a 
location,  as  it  is  on  the  railroad,  and 
water  is  supplied  by  artesian  wells.  In 
two  hours'  time  by  railway,  Beaumont 
may  be  reached,  twenty-five  hundred 
feet  above  the  sea,  and  in  another  two 
hours  the  San  Jacinto  Mountains,  from 
six  to  ten  thousand  feet  above  the  sea. 

Several  years  ago  water  returned  to 
the  bed  of  this  ancient  sea  and  gave 
rise  to  much  speculation  among  clima- 
83 


TWO' HEALTH -SEEKERS 

tologists  as  to  the  possible  effect  that 
this  large  body  of  water  would  have 
upon  the  climate  of  Southern  California. 
I  contributed  my  quota  to  this  discus- 
sion in  The  Climatologist  for  February, 
1892,  from  which  I  extract  the  follow- 
ing :  "  To  us  as  climatologists  the  most 
interesting  part  of  this  ancient  sea  is  a 
valley  about  sixty  miles  in  length,  fifteen 
miles  wide,  and  almost  surrounded  by 
mountains,  some  of  which  are  of  nearly 
ten  thousand  feet  altitude.  It  is  through 
this  valley  that  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad  finds  its  exit  after  leaving  the 
pass  of  San  Gorgonio.  A  recent  writer 
has  termed  it  'The  Death  Valley/  al- 
though from  four  hundred  to  five  hun- 
dred Cohuilla  Indians  consider  it  their 
home.  The  traditions  of  these  Indians 
and  the  remains  of  ancient  fish-traps 
seem  to  show  that  this  sink  has  before 
been  a  large  body  of  water,  although 
not  within  the  existence  of  any  living 
84 


IN    SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA 

man.  The  usual  overflow  of  the  Colo- 
rado River,*  which  skirts  the  sink,  has 
been  prevented  from  rinding  its  way  into 
this  sunken  area  by  its  outlet  into  the 
New  River,  which,  until  the  extraordi- 
nary rainfall  of  last  February,  was  suf- 
ficient ;  but  the  unusual  precipitation  of 
that  month  broke  down  the  sand  ridges, 
and  the  Colorado  River  began  to  pour 
its  waters  into  the  desert  at  the  rate  of 
sixteen  thousand  cubic  feet  per  second, 
increasing  until  the  flow  at  Yuma  was 
thirty -five  thousand  cubic  feet  per 
second.  The  water  reached  Salton  on 

*  Powell,  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey, 
says  that  as  the  delta  at  the  mouth  of  the  Colorado 
bridges  the  great  trough  from  side  to  side,  and  as  the 
river,  in  the  building  of  the  delta,  has  shifted  its 
course  from  place  to  place,  it  cannot  be  that  it  has 
always  as  now  flowed  southward  to  the  Gulf.  Part 
of  the  time  it  must  have  turned  westward  to  the 
Cohuilla  basin.  Whenever  it  has  turned  to  the 
southward  the  lake,  having  no  other  tributary,  has 
died  away,  leaving  the  basin  as  we  know  it  now. 

85 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

June  22  of  the  present  year  (1891),  and 
now,  as  I  write,  the  sink  is  covered  with 
a  vast  expanse  of  water,  one  hundred 
and  forty-five  square  miles  in  area,  and 
from  two  to  six  feet  in  depth,  while  in  a 
few  places  it  reaches  the  depth  of  fifteen 
feet.  The  traces  of  the  old  sea  show  a 
depth  of  eighty  feet." 

At  the  present  time  much,  indeed 
most,  of  the  water  has  evaporated  or 
receded  into  the  river,  and  the  valley  is 
almost  dry. 

A  very  good  article  just  published  by 
Gaillard,  Corps  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  A.,* 
who  was  stationed  here  in  San  Diego, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  International 
Boundary  Commission,  United  States 
and  Mexico,  states  that  it  will  be  a  sur- 
prise to  many  to  learn  that  our  own 
California  desert  holds  the  world's 
record  for  extreme  heat, — 128°  F.  in 


*  The  Cosmopolitan,  October,  1896. 
86 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

the  shade,  at  Mammoth  Tank,  a  point 
in  the  desert  twenty-five  miles  north 
of  the  international  boundary-line,  —  a 
record  far  in  excess  of  any  other  ever 
observed  at  any  regular  weather  bureau 
station  in  the  United  States.  Death 
Valley,  California,  is  not  very  far  be- 
hind: it  has  a  record,  taken  in  1891,  of 
122°  F. 

The  following  table  is  a  comparison 
of  our  desert  with  other  well-known 
high-temperature  locations.  It  is  from 
Harrington's  Report  on  the  Climate  and 
Meteorology  of  Death  Valley,  California  : 


Mammoth  Tank,  Colorado  Desert,  Cal.  .   .  28.0° 

Pachpadra,  Rajpootana,  India  ......  23.1 

Jacobabad,  Sinde,  India  .........  22.2 

Death  Valley,  California  .........  22.0 

Dera  Ismaeel  Kahn,  Punjab,  India  ....  21.5 

Hyderabad,  Sinde,  India  .........  21,0 

Gardaia,  Algerian  Sahara,  Africa  .....  18.4 

Mooltan,  Punjab,  India    .........  18.4 


It   must  be  borne   in   mind  that,  as 
Gaillard  says,  the  figures  given  for  the 

87 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

California  and  Arizona  deserts  may  be 
disappointing  to  some  who  have  heard 
of  extremely  high  temperatures  as  com- 
mon occurrences.  These  statements,  he 
thinks,  are  partly  due  to  exaggeration 
and  partly  to  the  effect  of  intense  radi- 
ated and  reflected  heat,  and  the  great 
difficulty  in  procuring  suitable  shade  for 
the  instrument.  The  desert  traveller 
encounters  but  little  shade,  and  is  ex- 
posed to  the  fierce  heat  of  the  sun, 
unless  he  locates  himself  at  a  suitable 
invalid  station,  an  oasis.  The  nights  are 
always  cool:  just  before  daylight  the 
thermometer  may  fall  as  low  as  65°  F. 

I  quote  from  Gaillard :  "  But  it  is  in 
winter  that  the  desert  is  at  its  best ;  the 
air  then  is  clear  and  crisp,  invigorating 
and  stimulating  to  a  remarkable  degree, 
and  although  at  times  it  is  somewhat 
hot  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  yet  the 
nights  are  perfect  and  the  stars  shine 
with  a  dazzling  brilliancy  peculiar  to  the 
88 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

desert.  It  is  by  no  means  unknown  at 
this  season,  and  the  writer  recalls  three 
occasions  in  March,  1893,  when,  on  the 
Colorado  desert,  within  thirty  miles  of 
Mammoth  Tank,  water  froze  in  his  can- 
teen at  night,  disproving  completely  the 
popular  belief  that  in  this  region  it  never 
becomes  cold  enough  for  ice  to  form. 
Frost,  like  dew,  is  practically  unknown, 
but  it  is  on  account  of  the  small  amount 
of  moisture  in  the  atmosphere,  and  not 
on  account  of  the  absence  of  cold  suffi- 
cient to  produce  it." 


89 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OUT-DOOR   LIFE   FOR  WOMEN. 

SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA  is  the  very  land 
for  out-door  life,  and  apart  from  riding 
and  driving  and  bicycling  and  camping 
there  are  many  occupations  and  interests 
which  come  well  within  the  scope  of 
even  delicate  women.  In  fact,  a  year  of 
healthy  country-life  in  Southern  Califor- 
nia would  do  far  more  to  restore  many 
ailing  people  to  health  than  several 
seasons  spent  in  sanitariums  and  cure- 
resorts.  To  begin  with,  one  learns  to 
do  without  hampering  luxuries,  and  one 
learns  to  make  the  best  of  everything, 
and,  above  all,  one  is  generally  at  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  a  doctor.  These 
are  immense  advantages  for  some  inva- 
lids, especially  for  rich  ones  who  have 
90 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

never  known  what  it  was  "to  have  a 
single  wish  denied." 

A  woman  can  do  a  great  deal  of  sat- 
isfactory and  useful  work  on  a  ranch. 
She  can  pick  the  lemons,  oranges,  olives, 
apricots,  or  peaches ;  she  can  sucker  the 
trees ;  she  can  undertake  the  anxious 
task  of  pruning.  She  can  superintend 
the  curing  of  olives  and  lemons,  and  see 
after  the  packing  and  despatching  of  the 
fruit. 

One  girl  who  came  from  the  East, 
from  a  busy  life,  and  had  more  leisure 
than  she  needed  here,  conceived  the 
excellent  idea  of  starting  a  strawberry 
ranch,  and  has  made  such  a  capital  suc- 
cess out  of  it  and  brought  such  beauti- 
ful fruit  to  the  market  that  others  have 
been  only  too  glad  to  follow  her  ex- 
ample. Another  lady  has  turned  her 
attention  to  the  culture  of  pampas-grass, 
and  is  reported  to  have  won  good  re- 
turns for  her  labour  and  outlay.  One 
91 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

hears  also  of  tired-out  teachers  giving 
up  their  school-work  and  taking  to 
nursery  gardening  with  all  its  various 
developments.  Amateur  gardening  is  a 
great  resource  in  itself,  and  the  satis- 
faction of  seeing  such  quick  and  rich 
results  from  one's  efforts  is  quite  inde- 
scribable. Given  a  fair  supply  of  water, 
one  may  soon  have  a  beautiful  garden 
around  one,  with  every  variety  of  rose 
and  carnation ;  wisteria,  honeysuckle, 
plumbago,  and  stephanotis  will  grow 
almost  like  weeds ;  in  fact,  anything  and 
everything  will  grow  as  though  in  fairy- 
land. So  that  gardening  in  Southern 
California  does  not  mean  hope  deferred 
making  the  heart  sick ;  it  means  some- 
thing quite  unusual  in  the  way  of  com- 
fort and  encouragement,  together  with 
the  knowledge  that  one  is  creating 
beautiful  surroundings  for  one's  home. 

With  regard  to  camping,  a  few  words 
of  caution   may  not  be   out   of  place. 
92 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

Delicate  women  are  likely  to  come  back 
worse  than  they  were  when  they  started 
out,  unless  their  men  folk  are  willing  to 
take  upon  themselves  the  whole  burden 
of  the  work,  or  unless  they  can  afford  to 
have  a  Chinaman  with  them,  or  some 
other  kind  of  servant,  thus  giving  them 
the  chance  to  rest  and  get  the  good 
from  the  open-air  life.  Otherwise  they 
are  always  over-fatigued  and  can  enjoy 
nothing,  and  would  be  far  wiser  if  they 
remained  at  home. 

Walking  is  not  one  of  the  pleasures 
of  out-door  life  in  Southern  California. 
Neither  the  climate  nor  the  country  is 
suitable  for  it,  although  botanists  who 
are  strong  enough  for  the  exertion 
scramble  about  everywhere,  searching 
for  treasures  and  fighting  determinedly 
through  the  thickly-grown  brush;  but 
most  of  them  when  possible  take  a 
horse  or  pony,  for  no  one  would  choose 
to  walk  here,  if  other  means  of  getting 
93 


TWO    HEALTH-SEERERS 

about  should  be  within  one's  reach. 
Lovers  of  flowers  can,  however,  make  a 
very  fair  and  characteristic  collection  by 
merely  gathering  what  grows  by  the 
roadside,  or  by  just  taking  a  few  steps 
up  the  slopes  and  laying  hands  on  any- 
thing which  strikes  the  fancy  there. 
But  there  is  no  strolling  about  among 
shady  trees  and  by  the  side  of  running 
brooks ;  and  many  people  will  find  this 
a  great  deprivation,  which  it  undoubt- 
edly is.  Driving  is  a  necessity  as  well 
as  a  pleasure  of  every-day  life ;  and  one 
soon  becomes  accustomed  to  going  for 
miles  and  miles  over  roads  which  after  a 
dry  season  are  full  of  "chuck-holes." 
Nothing  could  be  more  enjoyable  than 
starting  out  on  a  typical  Californian  day, 
with  a  nice  little  team  and  all  the  dogs 
scampering  along  joyously,  and  plenty 
of  provisions  and  a  fierce  determination 
not  to  return  until  you  feel  inclined. 
The  sense  of  freedom  is  delightful,  and 
94 


IN   SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

moreover  the  most  delicate  invalid  need 
not  be  afraid  of  these  expeditions,  and 
will  find  that  the  more  she  drives  the 
more  she  can  drive,  for  there  is  some 
curious  life-giving  power  in  the  air 
which  prevents  over-exhaustion  and  aids 
quick  recovery  from  ordinary  fatigue. 

On  account  of  the  many  interests  and 
occupations  inseparable  from  country- 
life  in  Southern  California,  all  of  them 
enticing  one  into  the  open  air,  one  feels 
more  than  justified  in  urging  visitors  to 
give  themselves  the  best  chances  of 
recovering  their  health  in  the  country 
rather  than  in  towns. 


95 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 


CHAPTER    V. 

EXPENSES  OF  LIVING — CLASS  OF  HEALTH- 
SEEKERS  THAT  SHOULD  COME  TO 
SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA  —  CLOTHING  — 
METHOD  AND  TIME  OF  ARRIVAL — LIFE 
TO  LEAD — AMUSEMENTS,  OCCUPATIONS, 
AND  BUSINESS  OPPORTUNITIES. 

CALIFORNIA  of  the  South  is  not  the 
country  for  a  poor  invalid. 

One  must  not  come  here  seeking 
health  without  sufficient  means  for  him- 
self and  his  family,  or  care-takers.  I  have 
seen  so  much  distress  and  suffering  on 
this  account  that  I  wish  to  speak  plainly. 
It  is  useless  to  strive  after  health  with- 
out placing  one's  self  under  the  most 
favourable  conditions  to  attain  that  ob- 
ject. Everything  that  an  invalid  re- 
quires is  expensive  here,  much  more  so 
than  in  the  far  East.  One  can  live 
96 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

very  cheaply,  but  only  by  denying  him- 
self the  comforts  and  luxuries  which 
are  essential  to  the  well-being  of  an 
invalid.  California  has  never  recovered 
from  the  conditions  incident  to  the  dis- 
covery of  gold  within  her  borders; 
money  is  comparatively  easily  made  and 
is  quickly  spent. 

There  is  little  trade  competition,  and, 
in  consequence,  prices  are  maintained  at 
an  arbitrary  standard.  Coal,  wood,  gas, 
water,  ice,  groceries,  and  all  manufac- 
tured articles,  command  a  price  that  is 
far  in  excess  of  New  York,  Boston, 
Philadelphia,  or  Baltimore.  On  the 
other  hand,  vegetables,  meat,  milk,  but- 
ter, and  some  fruits  are  very  cheap. 
Horse-hire  is  within  the  reach  of  modest 
purses.  The  wages  for  domestic  service 
are  absurdly  high,  and  the  service  very 
inefficient;  if  we  exclude  the  Chinese 
and  Japanese,  who  are  not  acceptable  to 
the  majority,  there  is  practically  no  ser- 
7  97 


TWO   HEALTH-SEEKERS 

vant  class.  House-rent  is  altogether 
too  high.  If  one  lives  in  Philadelphia, 
let  us  say,  in  a  certain  style  for  a  cer- 
tain sum,  and  wishes  to  come  to  South- 
ern California  for  residence,  it  is  safe  to 
calculate  that  it  will  cost  him  about 
forty  per  cent,  more  than  in  his  Eastern 
home  if  he  wishes  to  maintain  the  same 
mode  of  living.  It  is  a  curious  fact 
that  notwithstanding  these  conditions 
the  rates  in  the  first-class  hotels  are  not 
as  high  as  in  similar  houses  in  the  East 
Almost  all  classes  of  invalids  will  find 
a  suitable  climate  somewhere  in  South- 
ern California,  but  the  individual  himself 
must  hunt  for  it.  A  rather  extended 
experience  in  these  matters,  both  per- 
sonally and  professionally,  has  con- 
vinced me  of  the  inability  of  the  medi- 
cal adviser  to  select  absolutely  and  with 
certainty  the  proper  climate  for  each 
patient.  The  personal  factor  is  too 
strong,  and  one's  likes  and  dislikes  must 
98 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

be  consulted.  Let  him  take  to  heart 
Braun's  trite  remark,  "We  must  con- 
sider not  only  the  individual  sickness 
but  the  sick  individual." 

Speaking  broadly,  persons  suffering 
from  any  of  the  following  conditions 
will  find  certain  locations  in  Southern 
California  to  be  useful  aids  in  restoring 
them  to  health, — incipient  or  early 
phthisis  or  tuberculosis  in  any  form, 
chronic  pneumonia  or  a  tardy  conva- 
lescence from  either  pneumonia  or  pleu- 
risy, diseases  of  the  liver  following 
malarial  poison,  cirrhosis  of  the  liver, 
simple  congestion  or  hepatic  catarrh, 
jaundice,  functional  disturbances,  and 
organic  ills  in  those  of  advanced  years 
and  weak  or  poorly-nourished  children, 
children  subject  to  one  of  the  various 
diatheses,  as  the  strumous,  rachitic,  or 
tubercular.  The  overworked  and  over- 
worried  class  will  find  here  a  most 
soothing  climate  to  regain  their  lost 
99 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

energy  or  restore  the  nervous  system  to 
its  normal  equilibrium. 

My  advice  to  the  health-seeker  who 
is  independent  both  in  time  and  money 
is  to  come  to  California  in  April  or  May 
after  the  rains  are  over.  Let  him  remain 
during  the  summer  on  the  coast,  the 
climate  of  which  is  pleasanter,  by  the 
way,  than  that  of  any  of  the  Atlantic 
coast  resorts ;  let  him  study  the  country, 
become  accustomed  to  the  very  different 
conditions  here,  and  be  ready  to  obtain 
the  full  benefit  of  the  winter  after  hav- 
ing recovered  from  the  fatigues  of  the 
journey.  Those  who  cannot  devote  so 
much  time  to  the  trip  will  do  well  to 
start  for  California  before  the  snows 
occur  in  the  East,  thus  avoiding  the 
danger  of  blockades  which  are  disas- 
trous to  many  weak  persons  who  never 
recover  from  the  exposure.  Pulmonary 
invalids  especially  and  sufferers  from 
circulatory  disturbances,  or  those  weak- 


IN    SOUTHERN 

ened  by  disease,  should  on  this  account 
select  the  southern  route.*  It  is  monot- 
onous and  unpicturesque,  but  free  from 
high  altitudes,  and  it  crosses  a  country 
whose  climate  is  rarely  objectionable  in 
winter.  To  those  who  are  able  to  stand 
an  altitude  of  nearly  eight  thousand 
feet,  the  Santa  Fe  route  affords  perhaps 
the  most  comfortable  and  quickest 
mode  of  reaching  Southern  California. 
This  necessitates,  however,  starting  from 
Chicago  or  Kansas  City,  two  towns  not 
particularly  well  adapted  climatically  to 
the  needs  of  a  delicate  invalid.  The 
writer  has  been  a  somewhat  extensive 
traveller  and  feels  it  but  just  to  testify 
to  the  uniform  excellence  of  the  Hardy 
restaurant  and  dining-car  system  of  this 
railroad. 

The  invalid  who  is  not  a  sufferer  from 


*  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  from  New  Orleans  to 
Los  Angeles. 


diseased  heart  or  lungs  is  practically  at 
liberty  to  select  any  route  he  fancies, 
and  as  this  little  treatise  is  not  a  guide- 
book, he  is  referred  to  the  various  agen- 
cies of  the  different  cross-continent  sys- 
tems. The  most  picturesque  routes  are 
the  Canadian  Pacific  and  the  Denver 
and  Rio  Grande.  Many  and  varied 
combinations  of  routes  may  be  selected, 
and  much  that  is  remarkable  and  inter- 
esting visited  en  route,  if  one  has  the 
strength,  for  example,  the  Yellowstone 
Park,  the  Yosemite  Valley,  and  the 
Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado. 

The  advisability  of  an  uninterrupted 
journey  from  the  far  East  to  California, 
or  of  the  trip  made  in  easy  stages  as  the 
fatigues  and  monotony  seem  to  demand, 
is  to  a  certain  extent  a  personal  matter, 
and  no  one  can  decide  it  but  the  indi- 
vidual himself.  Some,  indeed  the  ma- 
jority of  invalids,  do  much  better  by 
pushing  on  to  their  journey's  end,  while 
102 


IN   SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA 

others  seem  to  require  one  or  more 
nights'  freedom  from  the  discomforts 
and  lack  of  ventilation  of  the  sleeping 
cars  to  preserve  them  from  actual  harm 
instead  of  benefit.  All  invalids,  no  mat- 
ter how  they  may  take  the  trip,  arrive  in 
California  fatigued  and  exhausted.  This 
requires  several  days,  and  in  some  in- 
stances several  weeks,  to  overcome.  For 
this  reason  one  must  be  prepared  to  suf- 
fer a  little  loss  of  ground  when  first 
coming  to  his  health  station.  This  loss 
is  usually  only  transitory,  and  is  gen- 
erally followed  by  a  rapid  gain.  If  the 
location  be  a  suitable  one  this  gain  will 
be  continuous  and  in  many  instances 
permanent. 

It  is  perfectly  foolhardy  to  leave 
one's  home  for  only  a  few  months  in  the 
winter  season  and  expect  to  find  a 
magic  cure  in  the  climate  either  in  this 
or  any  other  resort.  No  happy  results 
will  be  obtained  unless  the  residence  is 
103 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

continuous  for  at  least  a  year.  Under- 
stand me,  I  am  referring,  of  course,  to 
cases  where  so-called  organic  disease 
exists. 

The  sea  trip  by  way  of  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama  is  advised  only  in  a  small 
number  of  cases,  and  the  home  physi- 
cian must  determine  the  proper  subject 
for  this  tedious  journey.  It  is  very 
long,  and  in  the  tropical  regions  ex- 
tremely hot,  and  the  steamers  are  not 
under  very  good  discipline.  It  is  cer- 
tainly not  a  trip  that  a  woman  should 
take  alone. 

I  am  often  asked  what  kind  of  clothes 
one  should  bring  to  California.  I  in- 
variably answer,  just  such  clothes  as  are 
worn  at  home,  and  all  the  various  thick- 
nesses and  weights  that  the  invalid  is 
accustomed  to  there. 

We  have  already  remarked  upon  the 
great  contrast  in  all  semi-tropic  places 
between  sunshine  and  shade,  and  mid- 
104 


IN    SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA 

day  and  midnight.  It  is  this  contrast 
that  will  oblige  the  new-comer  to  use 
great  caution  in  making  any  change  in 
the  weight  of  clothing  until  he  has 
become  thoroughly  accustomed  to  all 
the  conditions  he  will  find  in  our  land 
of  many  climates. 

New-comers  from  the  furnace-heated 
houses  of  colder  climates  constantly 
complain  of  the  chilliness  of  our  winter 
air,  a  sensation  no  longer  experienced 
by  the  older  residents.  While  these 
strangers  are  thus  complaining  bitterly 
of  the  cold,  the  tenderest  flowers  are 
blooming  luxuriously.  This  is  of  course 
no  more  peculiar  to  Southern  California 
than  it  is  to  all  semi-tropic  countries. 

As  soon  as  possible,  the  health-seeker 
must  settle  down  in  a  proper  and  suit- 
able locality,  and  remain  there  until 
improvement  begins  or  is  fully  estab- 
lished. It  is  a  great  mistake  for  him  to 
move  rapidly  from  place  to  place  seek- 
105 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

ing  an  imaginary  climate  and  blaming 
all  climates  because  he  is  ill  or  does  not 
recover  as  quickly  as  anticipated.  It 
is  much  more  reasonable  to  lay  some 
of  the  blame  to  the  disease  itself  which 
has  brought  him  to  California.  He 
must  investigate  patiently  and  impar- 
tially the  selection  of  a  climate  which 
at  first  may  not  be  the  proper  one,  or, 
perhaps,  the  time  too  short  since  his 
arrival  to  draw  any  conclusions.  At  all 
events,  he  must  not  decide  at  once  that 
he  has  chosen  the  wrong  environment 
because  his  disease,  whose  life-history 
has  probably  been  of  many  years* 
duration,  does  not  immediately  improve. 
Disease  is  self-limited,  and  the  only 
effect  that  we  look  for  from  a  good 
climate  is  the  increase  of  tissue-resist- 
ance, and  the  development  of  that 
peculiar  something  in  the  tissues  which 
is  inimical  to  disease.  In  other  words, 
it  places  one  in  such  a  condition  that 
106 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

nature  asserts  her  functions  in  a  healthy 
way,  and  the  diseased  processes  are 
gradually  replaced  by  healthy  action. 

After  having  selected  the  climate,  and 
made  sure  that  his  selection  is  a  happy 
one,  the  new-comer  should  secure  a 
properly  constructed  house  and  sur- 
round himself  with  all  the  conveniences 
and  luxuries  his  means  will  allow.  The 
most  sensible  house  for  this  country  is 
one  modelled  after  the  style  of  an  East 
Indian  bungalow,  a  one-story  structure 
with  overhanging  eaves  and  wide  all- 
day  sun-porches.  It  must  face  south 
and  east.  Here,  too,  the  porches  must 
be  placed,  protected  on  their  western 
extremity  from  the  prevailing  winds. 
Upon  this  porch  the  invalid  is  literally 
to  live  as  many  hours  as  his  strength 
or  the  weather  will  permit.  I  have  a 
medical  friend  at  one  of  the  inland 
stations  who  lives  day  and  night  on 
such  a  porch,  the  sleeping  portion  of 
107 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

which  is  enclosed  in  fine  netting.  One 
need  have  no  hesitation  about  sleeping 
or  living  on  the  ground  floor;  there  is 
practically  no  soil  dampness  in  the 
place  where  he  should  build  his  house. 

The  invalid  must  realise  a  few  car- 
dinal points.  First,  in-doors  is  little 
different  in  Southern  California  from 
other  parts  of  the  world,  and  if  he 
houses  himself  he  would  far  better  have 
remained  at  home.  If  a  hotel  is  his 
choice  of  residence,  he  must  not  lounge 
about  the  ill-ventilated,  over-heated  of- 
fices, full  of  tobacco  smoke  and  germ- 
laden  air.  The  man  who  comes  to  this 
country  and  continues  his  club-life,  the 
daily  round  of  cocktails,  cigars,  and 
cards,  without  out-door  exercise,  had 
better  return  at  once;  his  stay  here 
would  be  useless.  I  have  in  mind  such 
a  man,  who,  last  winter,  could  find 
nothing  in  Southern  California  that  was 
praiseworthy,  but  everything  as  it  should 
1 08 


IN   SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

not  be  according  to  his  standard.  He 
was  viewing  Southern  California  through 
the  smoke-impregnated  air  of  a  hotel- 
lobby. 

Again,  one  must  not  expect  to  find 
the  comforts  in  housekeeping  or  hotel- 
life  that  could  be  obtained  in  an  older 
civilization.  This  is  a  pioneer  country, 
and  we  are  the  pioneers.  The  man  who 
is  not  willing  to  relinquish  some  of  his 
luxuries  must  not  seek  health  in  Cali- 
fornia of  the  South. 

The  key-note  to  a  healthy  existence 
here  is  out-of-door  life.  One  must  prac- 
tically live  in  the  open  air.  This  can  be 
easily  brought  about,  as  most  of  the 
locations  that  are  considered  health- 
resorts  have  from  two  hundred  and 
sixty-five  to  three  hundred  and  sixteen 
days  on  which  an  invalid  can  be  out 
of  doors  from  morning  till  sundown. 
Even  during  the  long  storms  of  winter 
the  clouds  often  break,  the  rain  ceases, 
109 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

and  one  may  spend  a  few  hours  of  the 
day  in  the  open  air. 

Tent-life  in  Southern  California  is 
peculiarly  agreeable,  if  one  does  not 
mind  the  dust,  because  no  provision 
need  be  made  for  rain-storms  during 
eight  months  of  the  year.  From  April 
to  November  one  may  camp  with  the 
certainty  of  finding  good  weather  every 
day.  Camps  may  be  located  at  any 
point  from  sea-level  to  extreme  altitude, 
and  the  various  climatic  conditions  se- 
lected as  detailed  in  other  chapters. 
House-wagons  are  serviceable,  and  pro- 
vide a  very  enjoyable  way  of  seeing  the 
country  and  regaining  health.  If  one 
loves  nature,  there  is  much  to  entertain 
and  absorb  in  this  country ;  indeed  there 
is  little  else.  Man  has  not  accomplished 
much  here ;  the  country  is  too  vast,  and 
too  thinly  settled. 

The  larger  cities  and  more  pretentious 
towns  have  good  theatres  and  music- 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

halls,  but  first-class  attractions  are  rather 
scarce.  There  is  but  little  club-life, 
as  we  understand  it  in  the  older  cities. 
A  few  localities  have  endeavoured  to 
establish  country  clubs,  but  as  yet  they 
are  not  very  successful.  Riding-horses 
are  low-priced,  and  livery  is  compara- 
tively very  cheap.  On  the  coast,  ex- 
cellent fishing,  sailing,  and  yachting  may 
be  enjoyed  the  year  round.  San  Diego 
has  the  only  good  harbour  on  the 
southern  coast,  but  the  roadsteads  at 
Santa  Barbara  and  Catalina  are  practi- 
cally good  enough  for  pleasure  sailing. 
The  shooting  is  excellent ;  quail,  duck, 
snipe,  curlew,  mountain  quail,  and  plover 
are  among  the  small  game  which  are 
plentiful.  In  the  mountains  deer  may 
be  found,  and  occasionally  bear  is 
seen. 

The  occupations  and  business  oppor- 
tunities in  Southern  California  are 
neither  plentiful  nor  varied.  The  coun- 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

try  is  distinctly  agricultural,  but  even 
agriculture  is  not  well  developed.  It  is 
in  an  experimental  state.  The  manu- 
facturing industries  are  hardly  repre- 
sented at  all,  on  account  of  the  scarcity 
of  water  and  the  absence  of  coal  and 
iron.  In  the  cities  and  small  towns  one 
is  confined  to  the  trades  and  occupations 
which  supply  the  inhabitants  with  the 
usual  necessities  and  comforts  of  life. 
One  who  is  obliged  to  gain  his  livelihood 
in  Southern  California  must  depend 
upon  one  of  these  occupations  or  turn 
his  attention  to  agriculture. 

The  professions  are  greatly  over- 
crowded, more  so,  I  think,  than  is  true 
of  other  parts  of  the  world,  due  to  the 
fact  that  professional  men  who  break 
down  from  overwork  are  continually 
coming  to  this  country  as  health-seek- 
ers, and  after  regaining  their  health 
never  go  home. 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 


CHAPTER    VI. 

TUBERCULOSIS     AND     DISEASES     OF      THE 
RESPIRATORY   SYSTEM. 

BEFORE  beginning  the  study  of  cli- 
mate for  the  consumptive,  it  is  perhaps 
as  well  to  obtain  a  clear  idea  of  just 
what  is  meant  by  the  term  consumption. 
This  has  popularly  come  to  mean  pul- 
monary phthisis,  but  this  term  no  longer 
represents  a  specific  pathological  condi- 
tion. It  is  rather  loosely  applied  to  a 
number  of  more  or  less  chronic  inflam- 
matory processes  in  the  lung.* 

*  "  Of  the  sixty-three  million  people  living  to-day 
in  the  United  States,  nine  millions  or  more  will,  un- 
less something  be  done  to  prevent  it,  die  of  tubercu- 
losis. In  the  census  year  of  1890,  one  hundred  and 
two  thousand  one  hundred  and  ninety-nine  deaths 
are  reported  as  due  to  pulmonary  tuberculosis  or 
consumption.  To  the  reported  deaths  not  less  than 
8  H3 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

Most  observers  of  to-day  are  agreed 
that  the  following  classification  is  as 
nearly  accurate  as  our  present  knowl- 
edge allows : 

I.  Pneumonic  phthisis, — a  destruction 
of  the  pulmonary  tissue  through  casea- 

thirty  per  cent,  should  be  added  in  order  to  arrive  at 
the  actual  number.  When  this  computation  is  made 
it  will  be  found  that  the  annual  number  of  deaths 
in  this  country  from  pulmonary  tuberculosis  amounts 
to  nearly  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  thousand; 
add  to  this  the  deaths  from  tuberculosis  of  other 
portions  of  the  body,  and  without  exaggeration  we 
may  state  that  the  tubercle  bacillus  is  responsible 
directly  or  indirectly  for  not  less  than  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  deaths  in  this  country  each  year." 
— Victor  C.  Vaughn,  M.D.,  of  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan, 
in  the  Medical  News. 

Otis  states  that  if  we  take  the  minimum  estimate 
put  upon  the  economic  value  of  a  human  life,  three 
million  nine  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand  dollars 
are  lost  to  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  alone  by 
the  ravages  of  this  disease.  It  is  a  simple  problem 
to  apply  this  to  the  entire  United  States,  when  the 
total  becomes  appalling. 

114 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

tion  or  cheesy  degeneration  of  the  in- 
flammatory products  in  the  lung,  and 
the  subsequent  softening  or  the  breaking 
down  of  the  caseous  deposits. 

2.  Tubercular  phthisis, — a  progressive 
inflammatory  change  in  the  lung-tissue, 
accompanied    by  the    presence   of   the 
bacillus   tuberculosis,   a   tubercular   de- 
posit in  the  lung  parenchyma  with   a 
subsequent  or  concomitant  degeneration 
of  the  tubercle  and  adjacent  pulmonary 
tissue. 

3.  Acute  phthisis, — sometimes   called 
acute    miliary    tuberculosis,    in    which 
there  is  a  rapid  bacillary  invasion  and  a 
deposit   of   the    gray   tubercle   granule 
throughout  the   entire  body,  but   espe- 
cially in  the  lungs. 

4.  Fibroid  phthisis, — an   inflammatory 
hyperplasia    of   the    lung    parenchyma, 
subsequent   cirrhosis,   atrophy   and   de- 
generation of  the  vesicular  structure. 

It  seems  hardly  necessary  at  this  late 
"5 


TWO   HEALTH-SEEKERS 

day  to  call  attention  to  the  contagious- 
ness of  tuberculosis,  and  were  it  not  for 
the  fact  that  I  constantly  meet  people 
who  come  to  California  for  health  and 
do  not  or  will  not  believe  that  such  is 
the  case,  I  should  pass  the  matter  in 
silence,  but  for  this  reason  I  quote  the 
following:  "I  should  for  obvious  rea- 
sons dissuade  the  occupation  of  the 
same  bed  or  even  of  the  same  sleeping 
apartment  by  two  persons  one  of  whom 
is  known  to  labour  under  pulmonary 
consumption/*  (Sir  Thomas  Watson.) 

Fuller  has  this  to  say  on  the  subject : 
"  It  behooves  the  physician  to  warn  the 
patient's  friends  of  the  dangers  incident 
to  long-continued  attendance  on  him,  es- 
pecially if  the  disease  be  in  an  advanced 
stage.  It  would  be  the  height  of  im- 
prudence for  a  healthy  person,  espe- 
cially if  young  and  of  a  scrofulous  diath- 
esis, to  sleep  in  the  same  bed  or  even 
in  the  same  apartment  with  a  consump- 
116 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

tive  patient;  for  although  the  malady 
might  not  be  communicated  directly 
from  one  to  the  other,  unless  possibly 
under  the  conditions  of  some  tubercular 
matter  being  accidentally  introduced 
into  his  air-passages  or  into  some  other 
part  of  his  system,  the  surroundings  and 
the  air  would  be  calculated  to  predispose 
him  to  the  disease!' 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  a  very  im- 
portant duty  of  the  physician  is  to  sug- 
gest an  intelligent  prophylaxis  which 
will  maintain  the  normal  mechanism  in 
a  state  to  repel  a  bacillary  invasion  and 
to  make  possible  a  spontaneous  re- 
covery. The  great  desideratum  in  the 
climatic  treatment  of  consumption  is  to 
have  the  invalid  leave  home  soon 
enough  and  reach  the  selected  locality 
before  the  disease  has  made  any  ad- 
vances. It  is  now  usually  possible,  by 
the  microscopic  examination  of  the 
sputum,  to  determine  very  early  in  the 
117 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

case  whether  or  not  we  are  dealing  with 
consumption  in  its  gravest  form — the 
bacillary — or  simply  some  of  the  other 
pulmonary  diseases  whose  import  is  far 
less  serious.  Just  here,  however,  we 
may  encounter  a  serious  difficulty;  the 
disease  may  develop  without  giving  rise, 
for  a  time  at  least,  to  appreciable  mani- 
festations. Indeed,  the  disease  may  have 
progressed  to  a  very  considerable  extent 
without  having  become  outwardly  ap- 
parent. All  of  us  engaged  in  the  study 
of  this  subject  have  long  observed  that 
tuberculous  changes  are  sometimes 
found  after  death,  where,  during  life,  the 
individual  was  seemingly  entirely  free 
from  such  lesions.  The  German  ob- 
servers are  so  impressed  with  this  fact 
that  they  have  stated  that  every  one 
ultimately  becomes  infected  with  tuber- 
culosis. 

In  order  to  give  rise  to  constitutional 
manifestations   it  is   necessary  that  the 
118 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

multiplication  of  the  bacilli  and  the 
generation  of  toxines  reach  such  a  de- 
gree that  the  accumulation  finds  en- 
trance into  the  circulation.  Maragliano 
(Berliner  klinische  Wochenschrift,  Nos. 
19  and  20,  1896)  says  that  when  tuber- 
culosis is  present  without  subjective  or 
objective  symptoms,  the  latency  may 
pursue  one  of  three  courses :  (a)  it  may 
persist  indefinitely ;  (b)  it  may  be  limited 
in  duration;  (c)  it  may  be  intermittent 
in  occurrence.  When  the  first  condition 
exists,  persistent  latency,  infection  is  be- 
yond the  range  of  certain  detection,  the 
normal  processes  of  nature  (auto-therapy 
or  auto-serumtherapy)  controlling  the 
advance  of  the  disease.  If  the  latency 
is  limited  in  duration  the  infection  sud- 
denly makes  its  appearance.  These  are 
the  cases  where  hemorrhage  from  the 
lungs  suddenly  occurs  without  apparent 
previous  symptoms,  and  causes  much 
amazement  to  the  patient  and  his 
119 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

friends.  Another  group  of  cases  also 
occur  under  these  conditions,  those  in 
which  tuberculosis  suddenly  shows 
itself  in  connection  with  some  acute 
infectious  disease,  such  as  typhoid  fever. 

When  one  passes  the  border-line  from 
latent  to  manifest  tuberculosis  one  of 
two  things  has  occurred,  either  in- 
creased infection  or  a  diminished  resist- 
ance, possibly  both. 

There  is  another  form  of  latent  tuber- 
culosis which  has  recently  been  classified 
as  larval  tuberculosis,  and  subdivided 
into  two  types,  dystrophic  and  typhoid. 
In  the  first  the  patient  gives  pronounced 
evidences  of  disturbed  nutrition ;  he  has 
the  symptoms  which  are  popularly 
known  as  dyspepsia, — namely,  progres- 
sive failure  in  strength,  an  enfeebled 
heart  and  pulse,  lost  or  impaired  appe- 
tite, debility,  mental  depression,  and 
anaemia.  Fever  is  rarely  present,  and 
physical  signs,  if  they  appear  at  all, 

120 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

occur  very  late  in  the  disease.  The 
second  type,  the  typhoid  form  of  larval 
tuberculosis,  is  characterized  by  the 
early  occurrence  of  fever,  which  is  at 
first  intermittent  and  then  remittent. 
Derangements  of  innervation  appear  very 
early,  although  the  general  strength  may 
be  maintained.  Attacks  closely  resem- 
bling typhoid  fever  occur  from  time  to 
time.  The  greatest  care  is  required  to 
make  the  diagnosis  of  larval  tuberculo- 
sis, and,  as  it  is  not  our  object  to  con- 
sider the  methods  of  clinical  medicine, 
we  shall  refrain  from  discussing  abstruse 
problems.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the 
diagnosis  can  be  made  by  intelligent  and 
painstaking  observation. 

When  the  existence  of  consumption 
is  recognized  early,  and  the  patient  is 
immediately  sent  to  a  proper  climate,  I 
see  often  some  most  remarkable  res- 
torations to  health.  I  have  two  such 
instances  in  mind,  of  young  medical  men 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

in  whom  the  infection  was  detected  at 
once;  one  received  his  in  a  large  city 
hospital  and  the  other  in  a  bacteriologi- 
cal laboratory.  They  came  to  Califor- 
nia, were  placed  in  a  suitable  climate, 
lived  a  proper  life,  and  within  a  year  the 
bacilli  had  entirely  disappeared,  and  the 
men  presented  every  rational  and  phys- 
ical sign  of  complete  restoration  to 
health. 

Another  great  class  of  people  who 
will  derive  marked  benefit  here  are 
those  in  whom  it  is  impossible  to  de- 
monstrate the  existence  of  actual  dis- 
ease in  the  lung  (latent  and  larval  tu- 
berculosis), but  who  are  weak,  ill  nour- 
ished, take  cold  easily,  are  subject  to 
attacks  of  winter  cough  and  bronchitis, 
and  whose  family  history  points  strongly 
to  the  ultimate  consumptive  break- 
down. These  individuals  present  an 
inherited,  or,  if  strumous  or  rachitic,  an 
acquired,  predisposition  to  the  disease. 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

These  and  the  very  early  or  incipient 
consumptive  will  be  considered  in  the 
same  class  climatically.  They  should 
come  prepared  to  remain  at  least  two 
years, — five  would  be  better, — and  they 
must  be  able  to  procure  everything  that 
aids  in  the  promotion  and  maintenance 
of  the  general  health.  As  I  have  said 
before,  it  is  madness  to  come  to  Califor- 
nia in  search  of  health  without  ample 
means  to  supply  all  comforts  and  lux- 
uries. 

Whatever  impairs  the  vitality  or  im- 
properly affects  the  normal  functions 
of  a  consumptive  must  be  constantly 
guarded  against.  All  acute  pulmonary 
disorders  should  be  promptly  relieved; 
affections  of  the  throat  and  nose,  how- 
ever slight,  should  be  made  the  object 
of  careful  treatment.  Most  important, 
indeed  vital,  is  healthy  digestion,  both 
stomachic  and  intestinal.  Here  is  the 
key-note  of  success.  The  pulmonary 
123 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

invalid  who  eats  well,  digests,  and  assim- 
ilates is  on  the  high-road  to  success. 

Any  change  from  city  to  country  is 
of  advantage  to  the  phthisical  invalid. 
There  is  usually  a  gain  in  weight  and  an 
amelioration  of  all  symptoms.  But  the 
place  of  residence  must  be  thoughtfully 
selected,  its  sanitary  conditions  and  gen- 
eral appointments  must  be  above  re- 
proach, the  local  and  meteorological 
conditions  the  best  that  can  be  found. 
However,  if  this  gain  does  not  at  once 
occur,  one  must  not  conclude  that  he  is 
immediately  to  change  the  location  and 
seek  a  new  climate.  Nor  is  one  to  sit 
down  in  a  porch-rocker  on  reaching  the 
selected  locality  and  wait  for  a  miracu- 
lous climatic  cure.  Here,  as  in  all  other 
relations  of  life,  little  is  to  be  gained 
without  labour.  The  climate  unaided  will 
produce  little  if  any  benefit  at  all.  The 
quantity  and  selection  of  food  must  be 
carefully  looked  to.  Physical  exercise 
124 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

cannot  be  neglected,  and  should  be  ad- 
justed to  the  needs  of  each  individual. 
The  only  two  aids  which,  in  my  hands, 
have  produced  happy  results  in  restoring 
health  are  good  food  and  out-of-door 
life.  I  do  not  mean  by  this  a  few  hours 
in  an  easy-chair  on  the  porch,  but  an 
out-of-door  existence,  in  many  cases  for 
the  entire  twenty-four  hours.  Those 
who  come  early  enough,  remain  long 
enough,  and  lead  this  life,  are  almost 
certain  to  find  what  they  seek.  I  have 
records  of  too  many  cases  of  complete 
and  partial  recovery  under  these  circum- 
stances, not  to  speak  very  positively 
on  the  matter  and  to  feel  absolutely 
sure  of  my  statements.  Many  of  these 
health-seekers  have  become  my  intimate 
personal  friends,  whom  I  see  day  by 
day,  and  whose  maladies  are  cured, 
arrested,  or  quiescent. 

It    is   a   fact   that    for    eighty  years, 
as   Theodore   Williams    says,  whatever 
125 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

success  has  been  attained  in  the  treat- 
ment of  phthisis  has  been  achieved 
by  strengthening  and  fortifying  treat- 
ment, whether  by  diet,  climate,  or  medi- 
cines, and  not  by  so-called  specific  treat- 
ment. 

We  must  lend  aid  and  support  to  the 
organism's  inherent  power  to  resist 
disease.  Metchnikoff  has  acquainted  us 
with  some  of  the  powerful  weapons  with 
which  nature  fights  the  battle  of  resist- 
ance to  such  bacillary  marauders. 
Our  object  is  to  increase  the  number 
and  activity  of  the  phagocytes  (lymph 
or  white  blood-corpuscles,  regarded  as 
organisms  capable  of  devouring  what 
they  meet,  especially  pathogenic  mi- 
crobes). 

Williams  considers  pure  air  the  most 
important  factor  in  the  treatment;  suc- 
cess is  largely  dependent  upon  its 
thorough  application  to  the  system  of 
the  patient.  He  recommends  an  out- 
126 


IN    SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA 

of-door  life,  and  adds  that  phthisical 
patients  should  accustom  themselves  to 
open  windows  throughout  the  year. 
The  question  of  occupation  or  amuse- 
ment for  pulmonary  invalids  is  always  an 
important  one.  Early  in  their  stay  they 
are  better  without  anything  to  do,  other 
than  taking  extremely  good  care  of 
their  health,  but  as  they  improve,  the 
life  becomes  very  monotonous,  and 
home-sickness  asserts  itself  most  vigor- 
ously. The  commercial  occupations,  as 
I  have  already  said,  are  few,  but,  as  a 
rule,  the  man  who  resides  in  Southern 
California  for  the  purpose  of  combating 
the  invasion  of  tuberculosis  is  much  bet- 
ter off  without  commercial  duties;  he 
would  do  better  to  seek  occupation  in 
agriculture,  or,  at  least,  in  such  a  one 
as  will  enable  him  to  perform  his  duties 
in  the  open  air. 

If  his   means  be  ample,  ranching  in 
a  small  way  will  afford  both  occupation 
127 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

and  amusement,  and  aid  very  materially 
in  accomplishing  his  purpose.  If  this 
be  not  to  his  taste,  he  can  still  occupy 
himself  with  out-door  pursuits,  with  his 
horses,  his  guns,  and  his  dogs.  Yacht- 
ing, sailing,  and  fishing,  too,  will  keep 
him  in  the  open  air.  The  bicycle  is  to  be 
used  only  upon  the  advice  of  his  physi- 
cian. Under  no  conditions  is  he  to  lead 
a  so-called  society  life.  If  he  is  not 
willing  to  relinquish  these  pleasures,  he 
had  better  not  come  here  as  a  health- 
seeker. 

In  most  cases  a  permanent  residence 
is  necessary  to  the  maintenance  of  a 
cure.  A  majority  of  cases  that  receive 
any  benefit  retain  it  only  by  remaining  in 
California.  When  the  disease  has  been 
arrested  in  this  or  any  good  climate, 
and  the  individual  has  returned  to  his 
old  life,  where  he  again  breaks  down,  he 
does  not  the  second  time  make  as  good 
a  recovery,  or  possibly  he  does  not  re- 
128 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

cover  at  all  on  revisiting  California  or 
his  selected  health-station. 

These  remarks,  of  course,  do  not  apply 
to  those  who  come  in  an  advanced  stage 
of  the  disease ;  with  these  little  will  be 
accomplished,  except  the  prolongation  of 
life.  I  have  often  been  dumfounded  at  the 
length  to  which  life  is  prolonged  under 
these  circumstances.  We  frequently  see 
up  and  about  individuals  whose  disease 
is  in  such  an  advanced  state  that  they 
would  most  certainly  be  confined  perma- 
nently to  bed  in  their  Eastern  homes. 
It  is  this  peculiar  effect  of  a  residence  in 
this  climate  that  seems  most  striking  to 
the  physician  himself  when  first  he 
comes  an  invalid  to  this  country. 


129 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THOSE   BENEFITED   BY  THE   CLIMATE. 

THOSE  who  desire  a  change  from  the 
cold,  damp  winters  of  their  homes, 
though  they  may  not  be  ailing,  or,  in- 
deed, may  enjoy  good  health,  will  find 
that  Southern  California  offers  them 
many  pleasant  and  suitable  locations. 
A  large  class  of  such  people  come 
yearly  to  this  country ;  it  is  even  quite 
noticeable  how  they  repeat  this  year  after 
year. 

Convalescents  from  any  acute  disease 
will  hasten  their  complete  recovery  by 
coming  here,  and  will  be  restored  to 
perfect  health  much  sooner  than  is  usual 
at  home. 

All  catarrhal  affections  do  well  in 
Southern  California ;  it  makes  little  dif- 
ference whether  it  be  catarrh  of  the  re- 
130 


IN   SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

spiratory  system,  of  the  gastro-intestinal 
tract,  of  the  bladder,  or,  in  fact,  of  any 
mucous  surface,  except  the  so-called 
catarrhal  form  of  consumption.  These 
invalids,  however,  must  be  particularly 
careful  to  avoid  the  unfavourable  condi- 
tions which  exist  in  our  climate.  They 
must  constantly  bear  in  mind  that  they 
are  possessed  of  peculiarly  unstable 
membranes  and  that  very  slight  causes 
will  give  rise  to  congestion  or  inflamma- 
tion. The  sufferer  from  catarrh  of  the 
stomach  or  intestines  can  no  more 
abuse  with  impunity  the  ordinary  laws 
of  dietetics  in  California  than  he  can 
anywhere  else. 

Scrofulous  affections,  enlarged  glands, 
the  soft,  flabby  muscles  of  the  strumous 
individual,  and  the  lymphatic  or  adenoid 
child,  receive  a  remarkable  benefit  from 
long  residence  on  the  coast  combined 
with  sea-bathing. 

Tuberculous  disease  of  the  bones  is 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

rare  in  the  native  population,  and  is 
favourably  affected  in  foreigners  by  the 
warm,  equable  climate  and  out-door 
life.  These  individuals  can  live  in  the 
open  air,  even  if  confined  to  bed,  or  to 
the  use  of  the  various  surgical  appli- 
ances for  rest  of  the  parts  or  correction 
or  modification  of  deformities.  The 
little  sufferers  from  Pott's  disease  or 
coxalgia  may  be  carried  out  of  doors 
on  their  cots  in  the  early  morning  and 
not  be  brought  into  the  house  until  after- 
noon, an  inestimable  blessing. 

The  sufferers  from  gout  and  rheuma- 
tism receive  great  comfort  and  benefit. 
The  open-air  life  which  they  are  able 
to  lead  is  a  condition  very  favourable  to 
recovery.  An  active  skin  and  pure  air 
are  wonderful  helps  in  eliminating  the 
disease. 

Those  who  have  abnormal  forms  of 
gout  and  rheumatism,  suppressed  gout, 
gouty  bronchitis,  and  the  dyspepsia  and 
132 


IN   SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

anaemia  attendant  upon  these  con- 
ditions, will  also  find  relief  from  their 
pains  and  an  amelioration  of  their  dis- 
ease. Invalids  in  this  class  must  also 
be  extremely  careful  to  avoid  indiscre- 
tions in  diet,  errors  in  clothing,  damp, 
fatigue,  or  chill.  Gout  or  rheumatism 
rarely  develop  in  this  country.  I  often 
hear  complaints  that  such  is  not  the 
case,  but  that  a  severe  attack  of  rheu- 
matism has  just  appeared,  much  to  the 
patient's  surprise  and  annoyance.  Care- 
ful inquiry,  however,  usually  elicits  the 
fact  that  he  has  had  other  slight  attacks 
or,  at  all  events,  premonitory  symptoms 
before  coming  to  California.  Or  it  may 
come  to  light  that  he  has  a  decidedly 
gouty  or  rheumatic  ancestry. 

It  cannot  be  considered  that  rheumatic 
maladies  which  arise  in  Southern  Cali- 
fornia among  the  native  population,  or 
those  long  resident  here,  are  the  result 
of  any  climatic  conditions.  The  specific 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

originating  cause  of  rheumatism  is  still 
under  discussion.  It  is  but  fair  to  sup- 
pose that  our  climate  presents  nothing  in 
itself  which  will  retard  the  operation  of 
this  cause  within  the  individual,  just  as 
the  bacillus  tuberculosis  is  not  extermi- 
nated by  climate. 

Those  who,  in  addition  to  the  ordinary 
manifestations  of  rheumatism,  show  a 
peculiar  susceptibility  to  changes  in  the 
weather,  and,  like  the  West  Point  pro- 
fessor, are  slaves  to  the  clouds,  also 
those  who  are  neuralgic  with  or  without 
rheumatic  taint,  will  find  almost  entire 
immunity  from  their  tortures  somewhere 
in  Southern  California.  The  exact  loca- 
tion they  must  decide  for  themselves  by 
personal  experience. 

Persons  having  diseases  of  the  kid- 
neys, particularly  the  granular  kidney, 
will  find  our  climatic  conditions  very 
favourable  to  their  comfort  and  well-being. 
In  this  connection  I  will  quote  from  my 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

paper  contributed  to  the  Climatologist 
some  years  ago.  "  It  appears,  then,  that 
a  residence  in  a  suitable  locality,  while 
it  will  not  of  course  arrest  well-marked 
kidney  lesions,  will  at  least  prolong  life 
to  a  degree  far  beyond  the  natural  ex- 
pectancy. The  constant  skin  activity, 
much  of  which  is  manifested  as  insen- 
sible perspiration,  lowers  arterial  ten- 
sion, and  depletes  in  a  most  beneficial 
manner,  relieving  the  overtaxed  renal 
circulation  and  the  diseased  parenchyma. 
Furthermore,  the  patient  will  be  pro- 
tected from  the  dangers  of  intercurrent 
or  concomitant  maladies,  which  are  so 
apt  to  prove  fatal  to  one  with  renal  in- 
adequacy." 

The  future  will  show  that  in  Southern 
California,  from  sea-level  to  two  thou- 
sand feet,  the  invalid  has  at  his  com- 
mand the  climatic  conditions  which  will 
prolong  his  life  if  suffering  from  chronic 
renal  disorders;  and  if  the  change  be 
'35 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

made  soon  enough,  when  the  connective 
tissue  is  yet  embryonic,  it  is  but  reason- 
ble  to  suppose  that,  with  decreased  ten- 
sion and  active  skin,  freedom  from  inter- 
current  renal  congestions,  and  a  constant 
out-door  life,  the  disease  may  be  arrested 
or  removed.  J.  C.  Wilson  and  Loomis 
(Transactions  of  the  American  Climato- 
logical  Association,  1889)  consider  that 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  low  tem- 
perature, rapid  change  of  temperature, 
and  high  altitudes  are  unfavourable, 
whereas  equability  and  warmth  are 
favourable  influences. 

Anaemia,  except  the  pernicious  form, 
rapidly  improves  with  us ;  these  invalids 
speedily  grow  better  and  stronger  and 
are  more  able  to  lead  the  necessary  out- 
door life. 

People  who  are   afflicted  with  atonic 

dyspepsia,  the  various  urinary  diatheses, 

oxaluric,  phosphuric,  and  other  troubles 

of  this  kind,  chronic  rheumatic  arthritis 

136 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

or  rheumatoid  arthritis,  will  find  help 
from  prolonged  residence  here. 

Pneumonia  in  Southern  California  is 
a  very  rare  disease  in  my  experience; 
it  is  apt  to  run  a  short  course  and  pre- 
sent a  speedy  convalescence.  In  Los 
Angeles  County  pneumonia  appears  as 
a  cause  in  only  2.41  per  cent,  out  of  a 
total  of  six  hundred  and  sixty-four 
deaths.  The  report  of  the  health  de- 
partment of  the  city  of  San  Diego 
shows  but  twelve  deaths  from  pneu- 
monia during  six  months  of  the  year. 
Baker  has  shown  by  diagrams  and 
tables  in  a  convincing  manner  that  the 
rise  and  fall  of  sickness  from  pneumonia, 
bronchitis,  influenza,  tonsillitis,  croup, 
diphtheria,  and  scarlet  fever  are  more  or 
less  controlled  by  fluctuations  of  atmos- 
pheric temperature,  the  diseases  being 
increased  by  lower  and  diminished  by 
higher  temperature. 

Erysipelas  is  a  very  rare  disease  here. 
i37 


TWO   HEALTH-SEEKERS 

Bullard's  statistics  show  but  one  death 
in  eleven  years,  and  demonstrate  the 
fact  that  in  all  Southern  California  ery- 
sipelas is  only  about  half  as  frequent  as 
in  the  rest  of  the  United  States. 

Advancing  years  and  old  age  may  be 
robbed  of  many  concomitant  infirmities 
by  residence  in  a  suitable  locality.  The 
aged  are  rarely  safe  in  a  high  altitude ; 
nor  can  they  with  impunity  change  their 
station  from  low  to  high  altitudes,  more 
particularly  if  they  suffer  from  chronic 
pulmonary  disease,  bronchitis,  bronchi- 
ectasis,  fibroid  phthisis,  or  the  like.  A 
dilated,  fatty  heart  absolutely  forbids 
removal  from  sea-level.  On  the  whole, 
a  marine  climate  is  preferable  for  old 
people,  and  if  it  be  warm  and  equable, 
so  much  the  better,  as  gout  and  rheu- 
matism may  be  warded  off,  or,  if  these 
be  already  present,  the  severity  of  their 
manifestations  may  be  lessened. 

Cystitis,  so  often  an  attendant  on  ad- 
138 


IN    SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA 

vanced  years,  and  so  apt  to  be  aggra- 
vated by  damp,  changeable  weather,  will 
be  markedly  benefited  by  our  warm, 
equable  climate. 

Insomnia,  the  plague  of  the  old,  and 
sometimes  the  torture  of  the  young,  will 
find  most  speedy  relief  on  the  coast 
Indeed,  the  writer  has  observed  most 
gratifying  results  in  this  respect  after  a 
sojourn  of  even  a  few  months. 

This  country  is  a  veritable  paradise 
for  the  growing  child.  There  is  no 
period  during  the  entire  year  when  it  is 
necessary  to  house  the  little  ones. 
There  are  no  badly  ventilated,  over- 
crowded, or  overheated  rooms.  The 
zymotic  diseases  are  usually  not  at  all 
prevalent.  They  are  mild,  run  a  very 
favourable  course,  and  are  generally 
followed  by  complete  recovery.  The 
scrofulous  child  lives  under  the  most 
favourable  conditions  to  combat  the 
inherited  taint. 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

THOSE   NOT  BENEFITED  BY   THE    CLIMATE. 

CERTAIN  diseases  of  the  nervous  sys- 
tem are  not  particularly  benefited  by  a 
residence  in  Southern  California.  The 
chronic  paralytic  will  be  able  to  lead  his 
remnant  of  life  in  the  open  air  instead 
of  in  furnace-heated  rooms,  but  he  must 
not  expect  any  curative  effects  from  the 
climate.  The  dry  electrical  conditions 
of  the  interior  seem  to  aggravate  the 
pains  of  early  spinal  sclerosis  or  loco- 
motor  ataxia.  They  do  fairly  well  on 
the  coast,  but  with  these,  again,  climate 
is  of  little  avail. 

Cases  of  neurasthenia  that  have 
reached  the  stage  which  it  is  now  fash- 
ionable to  call  terminal  neurasthenia  are 
better  away  from  Southern  California; 
140 


IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA 

the  head  pains  maybe  aggravated  by  the 
dryness  and  constant  sunshine.  Such 
patients  do  better  in  a  more  humid  and 
colder  locality.  They  always  complain 
bitterly  of  the  "  desert  winds." 

I  have  never  been  able  to  see  that 
epileptics  are  aided  in  any  way. 

Hemorrhagic  cases  of  tuberculosis 
should,  if  they  come  to  Southern  Cali- 
fornia, select  a  moderate  elevation  some- 
what removed  from  the  coast. 

The  so-called  catarrhal  forms  of  pul- 
monary disease,  the  catarrhal  phthisis 
of  the  older  writers,  the  phthisis  florida 
of  the  more  recent  observers,  are  apt  to 
do  badly  in  any  climate ;  the  best  loca- 
tion for  a  large  number  of  these  patients 
in  Southern  California  is  at  an  altitude 
between  fifteen  hundred  and  eighteen 
hundred  feet. 

Some  patients  with  laryngeal  phthisis 
find  the  humidity  and  winds  of  the 
coast  very  trying;  they  also  complain 
141 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

of  the  dry  heat  of  the  interior,  so  that 
for  them  at  least  Southern  California 
offers  no  suitable  home. 

Other  consumptive  patients  find 
Southern  California  entirely  unsuited 
to  their  particular  malady.  They  lose 
flesh,  have  fever  and  night-sweats  and 
haemoptysis.  The  temperature  changes, 
the  difference  between  sunshine  and 
shade  and  mid-day  and  midnight,  and 
the  fogs,  all  affect  them  unfavourably. 
They  are  unsuited  to  a  semi-tropic  sta- 
tion. 

I  find  that  certain  skin  diseases,  nota- 
bly eczema,  are  affected  unfavourably  by 
a  residence  too  close  to  the  sea.  I  have 
never  observed  that  "  fibroids,"  cases  of 
cirrhosis  of  the  liver,  or  gastric  ulcera- 
tion  show  any  particular  tendency  to 
hemorrhages  in  this  country.  They  are 
no  more  apt  to  bleed  here  than  else- 
where. 

Some  cases  of  rheumatism  find  the 
142 


IN   SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA 

coast  and  the  interior  unsuited  to  their 
form  of  the  malady,  and  are  obliged  to 
seek  other  health-resorts.  Asthmatics, 
whose  disease  is  most  peculiar  in  its  cli- 
matic relations,  must  try  this  climate 
personally  for  a  sufficient  time  before  it 
is  possible  to  decide  upon  the  desirability 
of  remaining  here  or  selecting  another 
and  totally  different  climate.  Persons 
suffering  from  this  disease  often  find 
entire  immunity  by  a  change  of  only  a 
few  miles,  or,  indeed,  in  some  instances, 
by  a  change  from  house  to  house  in  the 
same  town ;  others  will  travel  the  world 
over  and  fail  to  find  relief. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  lay  down  a 
hard  and  fast  rule  and  say  with  absolute 
certainty  who  will  or  will  not  receive 
benefit  by  coming  to  California.  We 
must  consider  the  individual  case.  We 
frequently  meet  with  patients  who  seem 
unsuited,  but  nevertheless  gain  much 
after  residence  here.  These  exceptions 


TWO    HEALTH-SEEKERS 

do  not,  of  course,  affect  the  general 
deductions,  but  simply  serve  to  show 
that  in  many  instances  a  personal  visit 
of  the  invalid  will  alone  decide  the 
matter. 


THE  END. 


144 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desk  of  any 
University  of  California  Library 
or  to  the 

NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
Bldg.  400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 
2-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 

(415)  642-6753 
1-year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing  books 

to  NRLF 
Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4  days 

prior  to  due  date 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


JA«  1  4  1992 


YA  02739 


404136 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


